Abstract
Asiatic lions, once widespread from Persia to eastern India, are now confined as a single population in the Gir forests and the adjoining agropastoral human-dominated landscape of Gujarat, western India. These lions inhabit forested habitats with small and medium sized prey that are found at relatively uniform seasonal densities. In this chapter, we present information on the historic and current distribution of Asiatic lions, and their evolutionary origins. We further delve into the effect of prey size and availability, coupled with habitat characteristics on hunting strategies, prey acquisition, male and female group sizes, and territoriality. From our long-term observations of lion behavior, we comment on the possible drivers of sociality in this unique population. Additionally, based on a cross population analysis from lions in east Africa and Gir, we discuss the causes and consequences of sexual segregation in Asiatic lions, and highlight the uniqueness of their social and mating strategies. We end with the prospects of potential research in this landscape, as well as the need for comparative studies on lion behavior across populations that inhabit different eco-regions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Antunes, A., Troyer, J. L., Roelke, M. E., Pecon-Slattery, J., Packer, C., Winterbach, C., Winterbach, H., Hemson, G., Frank, L., Stander, P., Siefert, L., Driciru, M., Funston, P. J., Alexander, K. A., Prager, K. C., Mills, G., Wildt, D., Bush, M., O’Brien, S. J., & Johnson, W. E. (2008). The evolutionary dynamics of the lion Panthera leo revealed by host and viral population genomics. PLoS Genetics, 4(11), e1000251.
Banerjee, K. (2012). Ranging patterns, habitat use and food habits of the satellite lion populations (Panthera leo persica) in Gujarat, India. Dissertation/Ph.D. thesis. Forest Research Institute Deemed University, Dehradun, India, 435 p.
Banerjee, K., & Jhala, Y. V. (2012). Demographic parameters of endangered Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) in Gir forests, India. Journal of Mammalogy, 93, 1420–1430.
Banerjee, K., Jhala, Y. V., Chauhan, K. S., & Dave, C. V. (2013). Living with lions: economics of coexistence in the Gir forests, India. PLoS One, 8(1), e49457.
Banerjee, K., Jhala, Y. V., & Pathak, B. (2010). Demographic structure and abundance of Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) in Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat, India. Oryx, 44, 248–251.
Barnett, R., Yamaguchi, N., Shapiro, B., Ho, S. Y. W., Barnes, I., Sabin, R., Werdelin, L., Cuisin, J., & Larson, G. (2014). Revealing the maternal demographic history of Panthera leo using ancient DNA and a spatially explicit genealogical analysis. Evolutionary Biology, 14, 70.
Bauer, H., De Iongh, H. H., & Di Silvestre, I. (2003). Lion social behaviour in the West and Central African savanna belt. Mammalian Biology—Zeitschrift fur Saugetierkunde, 68, 239–243.
Bertola, L. D., van Hooft, W. F., Vrieling, K., de Weerd, D. R. U., York, D. S., Bauer, H., Prins, H. H. T., Funston, P. J., Udo de Haes, H. A., Leirs, H., van Haeringen, W. A., Sogbohossou, E., Tumenta, P. N., & de Iongh, H. H. (2011). Genetic diversity, evolutionary history and implications for conservation of the lion (Panthera leo) in West and Central Africa. Journal of Biogeography, 38, 1356–1367.
Bertola, L. D., Tensen, L., van Hooft, P., White, P. A., Driscoll, C. A., Henschel, P., et al. (2015). Autosomal and mtDNA markers affirm the distinctiveness of lions in West and Central Africa. PLoS ONE, 10, e0137975. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0137975
Bertram, B. C. (1975). Social factors influencing reproduction in wild lions. Journal of Zoology, 177(4), 463–482.
Borrego, N., & Gaines, M. (2016). Social carnivores outperform asocial carnivores on an innovative problem. Animal Behaviour, 114, 21–26.
Brakes, P., Carroll, E. L., Dall, S. R., Keith, S. A., McGregor, P. K., Mesnick, S. L., Noad, M. J., Rendell, L., Robbins, M. M., Rutz, C., Thornton, A., Whiten, A., Whiting, M. J., Aplin, L. M., Bearhop, S., Ciucci, P., Fishlock, V., Ford, J. K. B., Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., …, Garland, E. C. (2021). A deepening understanding of animal culture suggests lessons for conservation. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 288(1949), 20202718.
Brakes, P., Dall, S. R., Aplin, L. M., Bearhop, S., Carroll, E. L., Ciucci, P., Fishlock, V., Ford, J. K. B., Garland, E. C., Keith, S. A., McGregor, P. K., Mesnick, S. L., Noad, M. J., di Sciara, G. N., Robbins, M. M., Simmonds, M. P., Spina, F., Thornton, A., Wade, P. R., Whiting, M. J., …, Rutz, C. (2019). Animal cultures matter for conservation. Science, 363, 1032–1034.
Breitenmoser, U., Mallon, D. P., Khan, J. A., & Driscoll, C. (2008). Panthera leo ssp. persica. In IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Bump, J. K., Gable, T., Johnson-Bice, S., Homkes, A., Freund, D., Windels, S., & Chakrabarti, S. (2022). Predator personalities alter ecosystem services. Frontiers in Ecology & Environment., 20(5), 275–277.
Bygott, J. D., Bertram, B., & Hanby, J. P. (1979). Male lions in large coalitions gain reproductive advantages. Nature, 282, 839–841.
Caldwell, K. (1938). The Gir lions. Journal of the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire, 34, 62–68.
Chakrabarti, S. (2018). Sociality in Asiatic lions. Dissertation/Ph.D. thesis. Forest Research Institute Deemed University, Dehradun, India, 123 p.
Chakrabarti, S., Bump, J. K., Jhala, Y. V., & Packer, C. (2021). Contrasting levels of social distancing between the sexes in lions. Iscience, 24, 102406.
Chakrabarti, S., & Jhala, Y. V. (2017). Selfish partners: resource partitioning in male coalitions of Asiatic lions. Behavioral Ecology, 28, 1532–1539.
Chakrabarti, S., & Jhala, Y. V. (2019). Battle of the sexes: a multi-male mating strategy helps lionesses win the gender war of fitness. Behavioral Ecology, 30, 1050–1061.
Chakrabarti, S., Jhala, Y. V., Dutta, S., Qureshi, Q., Kadivar, R. F., & Rana, V. J. (2016). Adding constraints to predation through allometric relation of scats to consumption. Journal of Animal Ecology, 85, 660–670.
Chakrabarti, S., Kolipakam, V., Bump, J. K., & Jhala, Y. V. (2020). The role of kinship and demography in shaping cooperation amongst male lions. Scientific Reports, 10, 1–13.
Clutton-Brock, T., & McAuliffe, B. K. (2009). Female mate choice in mammals. Quarterly Review in Biology, 84, 3–27.
Cooper, S. M. (1991). Optimal hunting group size: the need for lions to defend kills against loss to spotted hyaenas. African Journal of Ecology, 29, 130–136.
Dalvi, M. K. (1969). Gir lion census 1968. Indian Forester, 95, 741–752.
Davies, A. B., Tambling, C. J., Kerley, G. I., & Asner, G. P. (2016). Effects of vegetation structure on the location of lion kill sites in African thicket. PLoS One, 11, e0149098.
Divyabhanusinh, C. (2005). The story of Asia’s lions. Marg. 259 p.
Driscoll, C. A., Menotti-Raymond, M., Nelson, G., Goldstein, D., & O’Brien, S. J. (2002). Genomic microsatellites as evolutionary chronometers: A test in wild cats. Genome Research, 12, 414–423.
Edwards, S. M., & Fraser, L. G. (1907). The Gir forests and its lions. In The Ruling Princes of India, Junagadh; being a historical, archeological, political and statistical account of the premier State of Kathiawar, Bombay. Times of India Press.
Estes, R. D., & Small, R. (1981). The large herbivore populations of Ngorongoro Crater. African Journal of Ecology, 19, 175–185.
Fenton, L. L. (1908). The Kathiawar lion. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 19, 4–15.
Funston, P. J., Mills, M. G. L., Biggs, H. C., & Richardson, P. R. K. (1998). Hunting by male lions: ecological influences and socioecological implications. Animal Behaviour, 56, 1333–1345.
Gittleman, J. L. (1989). Carnivore group living: comparative trends. In J. L. Gittleman (Ed.), Carnivore behavior, ecology, and evolution (pp. 183–207). Springer.
Grinnell, J., & McComb, K. (1996). Maternal grouping as a defense against infanticide by males: evidence from field playback experiments on African lions. Behavioral Ecology, 7(1), 55–59.
Grinnell, J., & McComb, K. (2001). Roaring and social communication in African lions: the limitations imposed by listeners. Animal Behaviour, 62(1), 93–98.
Gujarat Forest Department. (2020). 15th lion population estimation report—2020. Gujarat Forest Department.
Gupta, S. K. (1972). Chronology of the raised beaches and inland coral reefs of the Saurashtra Coast. Journal of Geology, 80, 357–361.
Hamilton, W. D. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behaviour. II. Journal of theoretical biology, 7(1), 17–52.
Hanby, J. P., Bygott, J. D., & Packer, C. (1995). Ecology, demography, and behavior of lions in two contrasting habitats: Ngorongoro crater and the Serengeti plains. In A. R. E. Sinclair (Ed.), Serengeti II dynamics, management, and conservation of an ecosystem. The University of Chicago Press.
Heinsohn, R., & Packer, C. (1995). Complex cooperative strategies in group-territorial African lions. Science, 269(5228), 1260–1262.
Höner, O. P., Wachter, B., East, M. L., & Hofer, H. (2002). The response of spotted hyaenas to long-term changes in prey populations: functional response and interspecific kleptoparasitism. Journal of Animal Ecology, 71(2), 236–246.
Jhala, Y. V., Banerjee, K., Chakrabarti, S., Basu, P., Singh, K., Dave, C., & Gogoi, K. (2019). Asiatic lion: Ecology, economics, and politics of conservation. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 312.
Jhala, Y. V., Mukherjee, S., Shah, N., Chauhan, K. S., Dave, C. V., Meena, V., & Banerjee, K. (2009). Home range and habitat preference of female lions (Panthera leo persica) in Gir forests, India. Biodiversity Conservation, 18, 3383–3394.
Jhala, Y. V., Banerjee, K., and Basu, P. (2014). Ecology of Lion in Agro-pastoral Gir Landscape, Gujarat - Final Project Report. Technical Report, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun, India, pp xvi + 374. TR-2014/TR-2006.
Joslin, P. (1973). The Asiatic lion: a study of ecology and behavior. Dissertation/Ph.D. thesis. Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Edinburgh, 249 p.
Kinnear, N. B. (1920). The past and present distribution of the lion in south eastern Asia. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 27, 34–39.
Kitchener, A. C., Breitenmoser-Wursten, C., Eizirik, E., Gentry, A., Werdelin, L., Wilting, A., Yamaguchi, N., Abramov, A. V., Christiansen, P., Driscoll, C., Duckworth, J. W., Johnson, W., Luo, S.-J., Meijaard, E., O’Donoghue, P., Sanderson, J., Seymour, K., Bruford, M., Groves, C., … Tobe, S. (2017). A revised taxonomy of the Felidae. The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. Cat News Special Issue, 11, 1–80.
Kotze, R., Keith, M., Winterbach, C. W., Winterbach, H. E. K., & Marshal, J. P. (2018). The influence of social and environmental factors on organization of African lion (Panthera leo) prides in the Okavango Delta. Journal of Mammalogy, 99, 845–858.
Krakauer, A. H. (2005). Kin selection and cooperative courtship in wild turkeys. Nature, 434, 69–72.
Krause, J., Ruxton, G. D., Ruxton, G., & Ruxton, I. G. (2002). Living in groups. Oxford University Press.
Lamprecht, J. (1981). The function of social hunting in larger terrestrial carnivores. Mammal Review, 11, 169–179.
Lyke, M. M., Dubach, J., & Briggs, M. B. (2013). A molecular analysis of African lion (Panthera leo) mating structure and extra-group paternity in Etosha National Park. Molecular Ecology, 22, 2787–2796.
Macdonald, D. W. (1983). The ecology of carnivore social behaviour. Nature, 301, 379–384.
McComb, K., Packer, C., & Pusey, A. (1994). Roaring and numerical assessment in contests between groups of female lions, Panthera leo. Animal Behaviour, 47, 379–387.
Mosser, A., & Packer, C. (2009). Group territoriality and the benefits of sociality in the African lion, Panthera leo. Animal Behaviour, 78, 359–370.
Mosser, A. A., Kosmala, M., & Packer, C. (2015). Landscape heterogeneity and behavioral traits drive the evolution of lion group territoriality. Behavioral Ecology, 26, 1051–1059.
Nowell, K., & Jackson, P. (1996). Wild cats: status survey and conservation action plan. 382. IUCN.
O’Brien, S. J. (2003). Prides and prejudice. In S. J. O’Brien (Ed.), Tears of the cheetah and other tales from the genetic frontier: the genetic secrets of our animal ancestors (pp. 35–55). Thomas Dunne Books.
Packer, C. (2019). The African lion: a long history of interdisciplinary research. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 259.
Packer, C., Hilborn, R., Mosser, A., Kissui, B., Borner, M., Hopcraft, G., Wilmshurst, J., Mduma, S., & Sinclar, A. R. E. (2005). Ecological change, group territoriality, and population dynamics in Serengeti lions. Science, 307, 390–393.
Packer, C., & Pusey, A. (1982). Cooperation and competition within coalitions of male lions: kin selection or game theory? Nature, 296, 740–742.
Packer, C., Pusey, A. E., Rowley, H., Gilbert, D. A., Martenson, J., & O'Brien, S. J. (1991). Case study of a population bottleneck: lions of the Ngorongoro Crater. Conserv. Biol., 5, 219–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.1991.tb00127.x
Packer, C., Pusey, A., & Eberly, L. E. (2001). Egalitarianism in female African lions. Science, 293, 690–693.
Packer, C., & Pusey, A. E. (1983). Adaptations of female lions to infanticide by incoming males. American Naturalist, 121, 716–728.
Packer, C., & Ruttan, L. (1988). The evolution of cooperative hunting. The American Naturalist, 132, 159–198.
Packer, C., Scheel, D., & Pusey, A. E. (1990). Why lions form groups: food is not enough. The American Naturalist, 136(1), 1–19.
Patterson, B. D., Kays, R. W., Kasiki, S. M., & Sebestyen, V. M. (2006). Developmental effects of climate on the lion’s mane (Panthera leo). Journal of Mammalogy, 87, 193–200.
Pocock, R. I. (1930). Lions of Asia. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 34, 638–665.
Power, J. R., & Compion, S. R. X. (2015). Lion predation on elephants in the Savuti, Chobe National Park, Botswana. African Zoology, 44, 36–44.
Schaller, G. B. (1972). The Serengeti lion: a study of predator-prey relations. University of Chicago Press.
Scheel, D., & Packer, C. (1991). Group hunting behavior of lions: a search for cooperation. Animal Behaviour, 41, 697–709.
Scheel, D., & Packer, C. (1995). Variation in predation by lions. Serengeti II: dynamics, management and conservation of an ecosystem, 299–314.
Silk, J. B. (2007). The adaptive value of sociality in mammalian groups. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 362, 539–559.
Singh, H. S., & Kamboj, R. D. (1996). Biodiversity conservation plan for Gir (a management plan for Gir Sanctuary and National Park) (Vol. I). Sasan Gir Wildlife Division, Gujarat Forest Department.
Smuts, G. L., Robinson, G. A., & Whyte, I. J. (1980). Comparative growth of wild male and female lions (Panthera leo). Journal of Zoology, 190(3), 365–373.
Stander, P. E. (1992a). Cooperative hunting in lions: the role of the individual. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 29, 445–454.
Stander, P. E. (1992b). Foraging dynamics of lions in semi-arid environment. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 70, 8–21.
Widdig, A. (2007). Paternal kin discrimination: the evidence and likely mechanisms. Biological Reviews, 82, 319–334.
Zuberbühler, K. (2008). Audience effects. Current Biology, 18, R189–R190.
Acknowledgments
We thank the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, India, Chief Wildlife Warden, Gujarat State and Chief Conservator of Forests, Junagadh for granting permissions and facilitation of the long-term study. Deputy Conservator of Forests, Gir are deeply acknowledged for their help with the smooth running of the project over the past two and half decades. We are grateful to the Wildlife Institute of India, Gujarat Forest Department, US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Geographic Society, Department of Science and Technology (India), and the University of Minnesota for funding various components of our project.
Any long-term ecological project requires the continuity of research personnel who have the vision to be futuristic and determined. We are grateful to our long-term field assistants who have dedicated more than 25 years to this project, mentoring students and researchers, tracking lions, and collecting data. Kudos to Osman Ali Mhd. (Bhiku) for his enviable composure and skills in the field, his courage and his impeccable understanding of natural history; to Late Taj Mhd. Bloch for his experience and wisdom, to Hamal Heptan for his sheer brilliance in tracking lions in the most difficult of terrains and his knowledge of everything around, to Sameer Makrani and Iqbal Bloch for their enthusiasm and driving skills with ancient field vehicles! We are indebted to our amazing, kind, and humble field assistants who are the main pillars of the project. SC would personally like to thank each one of them for saving his life multiple times when charged by aggressive male lions with their mates, or lionesses with small cubs, or just lions in a bad mood, or human-eating leopards. SC also acknowledges them dearly for teaching him the Gujarati language that has immensely helped him in the inclusion of perspectives of local communities.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chakrabarti, S., Banerjee, K., Jhala, Y.V. (2023). The Role of Food and Mates in Shaping Asiatic Lion Societies. In: Srinivasan, M., Würsig, B. (eds) Social Strategies of Carnivorous Mammalian Predators. Fascinating Life Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29803-5_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29803-5_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-29802-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-29803-5
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)