Pride and Prejudice Trivia Quiz

Answer: One or two males, five to ten females

A typical pride has one or two males, although this number is sometimes increased to four. That number usually decreases again with the expulsion of some males. The females of a pride will usually be related to each other, as female cubs generally stay with their mother's pride.

This gender balance does not include the cubs, of mixed sex, who live with the adults. The male cubs usually leave at around two years of age, while females stay to become adult members of their pride. When a pride's size gets too large to be sustained in their territory, it may split into two, or the maturing cubs may be sent out of the pack, allowing the toll of age to gradually reduce the pack size again.

Answer: Coalition

A stable coalition can form when there are two males in a pride. This may occur when a young male matures but does not leave the pride, or when an outsider joins them. Coalitions are not usually stable for long, as lions tend to fight for dominance. When one of the members of a coalition becomes significantly stronger than the other, he is likely to either kill or expel the weaker one and reign supreme.

Answer: The females hunt as a group

The female is structurally better suited to hunting than the male - that massive mane tends to make them get overheated and have to abandon the chase too quickly. Males do sometimes participate in hunting if the quarry is close by. Even females are not built to run for long distances to catch their prey, and tend to hunt in dim light that allows them to approach closely before launching the attack.

It also helps to have several attack from different directions at once, reducing the chosen animal's escape options.

In the wild, the most common prey for lions is the wildebeest, followed by the zebra.

Answer: Members of the hunting group

The animals that made the kill get first go at the food; if the animal is small, they may consume it all and not take any back to the rest of the pride. However, what does get taken back is consumed first by the adult males. A male who notices a kill close by may wander over and push the hunters out of the way, but most kills are far enough away from the residential spot so that the hunters get a chance to eat their fill first.

As they are the ones who have used up energy in the hunt, and who will be called on to do so again for the next meal, it is clearly in the interests of the pride that they receive adequate nutrition.

Answer: A litter is usually kept separate from the pride for about six to eight weeks

Female lions are usually ready to start breeding around four years of age, and breed year-round, not at any particular season. A litter usually includes between one and four cubs, and the mother bears them in a secluded spot separate from the main pride.

They usually stay separate for six to eight weeks, during which time the mother hunts on her own. It is common for her to move them to a new site every few weeks for security. Once reintegrated into the pride, the cubs must fight for food with the older members, and starvation is a common cause of death in young lions.

Answer: True

It is not uncommon for the females of a pride to synchronise their oestrus, leading to multiple sets of cubs that are roughly similar in age, and multiple lactating lionesses. Since the females share the task of nursing the cubs, freeing some to join in group hunting instead of having to fend for themselves, there is a distinct benefit to moving cubs back to the pack at a somewhat earlier age than usual.

Answer: Nomad

All male lions will be forced to leave their pride at around two years of age, as they near maturity (usually about three years of age) and become nomads, unless there are exceptional circumstances. They then roam the countryside either on their own or with a partner. Their territory is called their nomadic range, and may overlap the territories of neighboring prides. Pairs are more likely to be brothers expelled from their pride at the same time than unrelated males. Some lions spend the rest of their life as nomads, some will be able to join another pride at some later point in time.

Answer: The pride has grown too large to sustain any further increase

While females normally stay with the pride in which they were born, they may be forced to leave if the pride has grown to be too large to sustain themselves on the available food in their pride area. This usually leads to all the members of a litter being turned into nomads at once.

It is extremely rare for a female nomad to reintegrate into another pride, as their arrival will be resisted by the related females who are already there. Occasionally they may encounter a nomadic male, and establish a new pride of their own.

Its survival will depend on their ability to defend territory against other prides.

Answer: Advertising on the internet

If a nomad successfully removes an existing male, he usually proceeds to kill the remaining cubs, helping to reduce the previous male's contribution to the pride's gene pool. Two males may form a coalition, at least for some time, giving the nomad a place in a new pride. And, as mentioned in an earlier question, it has been known for a male nomad to unite with some female nomads and form a new pride, subject to being able to find a suitable pride area. Few lions engage in internet activity.

Answer: Both male and female adults

In each pride, there is a set pattern of response against invaders. Each lion or lioness has its own role, such as leading the attack, forming a second wave of attack, or guarding the cubs. The roles vary depending on the nature of the intruder - a male lion seeking to challenge the current male, a female lion trying to join the pride, another predator moving in on their territory all elicit different responses.