The King of the Beasts is not a monarch, but rules as part of a group. Lions are the only social cats, and their gregarious behaviour has long been a puzzle. It may have more than one explanation, to do with territory, the size of their prey, the behaviour of the males, and competition from other species. Family Cats Lions live in a pride, an affectionate assembly of related families and their young, with two or three unrelated adult males.
Females born into the pride stay with it for life, but ales are driven away as adolescents.
The peaceful life of the pride is usually disrupted every two or three years, but until this happens the members work together to ensure the survival of the cubs and their own well-being. The females do the hunting. A group of three or four can kill a buffalo weighing a tonne. Since each adult lion needs about 5 kg of food every day, a kill this big could supply a pride of, say, twelve females and three males for nearly a fortnight. But there are always scavengers, such as hyenas, around so the rations run out much sooner.