Editing Lion (section)

===Group organisation===
{{multiple image|align=right|direction=vertical
|image1=Lion (Panthera leo) male and cub Etosha.jpg|caption1=Lion pride in Etosha National Park
|image2=Lions Family Portrait Masai Mara.jpg|caption2=A lioness (left) and two males in Masai Mara}}
The lion is the most social of all wild felid species, living in groups of related individuals with their offspring. Such a group is called a "[[List of animal names#L|pride]]". Groups of male lions are called "coalitions".<ref name="Schaller33">[[#Schaller|Schaller]], p. 33.</ref> Females form the stable social unit in a pride and do not tolerate outside females.<ref name="Schaller37">[[#Schaller|Schaller]], p. 37.</ref> The majority of females remain in their birth prides while all males and some females [[Biological dispersal|disperse]].<ref name=Packer33>[[#Packer|Packer]], p. 33.</ref> The average pride consists of around 15 lions, including several adult females and up to four males and their cubs of both sexes. Large prides of up to 30 individuals have been observed.<ref>[[#Schaller|Schaller]], p. 34–35.</ref> The sole exception to this pattern is the [[Tsavo lion]] pride that always had only one adult male.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Milius |first=S. |date=2002 |title= Biology: Maneless lions live one guy per pride |journal=Society for Science & the Public |volume=161 |issue=16 |page=253 |doi=10.1002/scin.5591611614}}</ref> Prides act as [[fission–fusion society|fission–fusion societies]], and members split into subgroups that keep in contact with [[roar]]s.<ref>[[#Packer|Packer]], pp. 25, 31.</ref>

Nomadic lions range widely and move around sporadically, either in pairs or alone.<ref name="Schaller33"/> Pairs are more frequent among related males. A lion may switch lifestyles; nomads can become residents and vice versa.<ref name=Estes>{{cite book |author=Estes, R. |year=1991 |title=The behavior guide to African mammals: including hoofed mammals, carnivores, primates |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-08085-0 |location=Berkeley |chapter=Lion |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_0520080858/page/369 369–376] |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0520080858/page/369 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0520080858/page/369 }}</ref> Interactions between prides and nomads tend to be hostile, although pride females in [[estrus]] allow nomadic males to approach them.<ref>[[#Schaller|Schaller]], pp. 52–54.</ref> Males spend years in a nomadic phase before gaining residence in a pride.<ref>{{cite book |author=Hanby, J. P.|author2=Bygott, J. D.  |year=1979 |chapter=Population changes in lions and other predators |title=Serengeti: dynamics of an ecosystem |editor1=Sinclair, A. R. E. |editor2=Norton-Griffiths, M. |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |pages=249–262}}</ref> A study undertaken in the [[Serengeti National Park]] revealed that nomadic coalitions gain residency at between 3.5 and 7.3 years of age.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Borrego, N. |author2=Ozgul, A.|author3=Slotow, R.|author4=Packer, C. |year=2018 |title=Lion population dynamics: do nomadic males matter? |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=29 |issue=3 |doi=10.1093/beheco/ary018 |pages=660–666 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In Kruger National Park, dispersing male lions move more than {{cvt|25|km}} away from their natal pride in search of their own territory. Female lions stay closer to their natal pride. Therefore, female lions in an area are more closely related to each other than male lions in the same area.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Van Hooft, P.|author2=Keet, D. F.  |author3=Brebner, D. K.|author4=Bastos, A. D. |year=2018 |title=Genetic insights into dispersal distance and disperser fitness of African lions (''Panthera leo'') from the latitudinal extremes of the Kruger National Park, South Africa |journal=BMC Genetics |volume=19 |issue=1 |page=21 |doi=10.1186/s12863-018-0607-x |pmid=29614950 |pmc=5883395 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The evolution of sociability in lions was likely driven both by high [[population density]] and the clumped resources of savannah habitats. The larger the pride, the more high-quality [[Territory (animal)|territory]] they can defend; "hotspots" are near river [[confluence]]s, where they have optimal access to water, prey and vegetation cover.<ref>[[#Packer|Packer]], pp. 195–196, 222.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mosser |first1=A. A.|last2=Kosmala |first2=M. |last3=Packer|first3=C.|year=2015 |title=Landscape heterogeneity and behavioral traits drive the evolution of lion group territoriality |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=1051–1059 |doi=10.1093/beheco/arv046 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A study on three lion prides in a Zimbabwean wildlife reserve revealed that the dominant pride of 12 lions had the shortest average distance to water and the smallest [[home range]] of {{cvt|130.35|km2}}; the smallest pride of four lions had the longest average distance to water and the largest home range of {{cvt|174.6|km2}}.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Tarugara, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Clegg, B. W. |author3=Clegg, S. B. |year=2024 |title=Factors influencing space-use and kill distribution of sympatric lion prides in a semi-arid savanna landscape |journal=PeerJ |volume=12 |page=e16749 |doi=10.7717/peerj.16749 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The area occupied by a pride is called a "pride area" whereas that occupied by a nomad is a "range".<ref name="Schaller33"/> Males associated with a pride patrol the fringes.<ref name=Haas2005/> Both males and females defend the pride against intruders, but the male lion is better-suited for this purpose due to its stockier, more powerful build. Some individuals consistently lead the defence against intruders, while others lag behind.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Heinsohn|first= R. |author2=Packer, C. |year=1995 |title=Complex cooperative strategies in group-territorial African lions |journal=Science |volume=269 |issue=5228 |pages=1260–1262 |doi=10.1126/science.7652573 |pmid=7652573 |bibcode=1995Sci...269.1260H |s2cid= 35849910 |url=http://www.life.umd.edu/faculty/wilkinson/BIOL608W/Heinsohn&Packer95.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810170702/http://www.life.umd.edu/faculty/wilkinson/BIOL608W/Heinsohn&Packer95.pdf |archive-date=10 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Lions tend to assume specific roles in the pride; slower-moving individuals may provide other valuable services to the group.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Morell |first=V. |year=1995 |title=Cowardly lions confound cooperation theory |journal=Science |volume=269 |issue=5228 |pages=1216–1217 |doi=10.1126/science.7652566 |pmid=7652566 |bibcode=1995Sci...269.1216M |s2cid=44676637}}</ref> Alternatively, there may be rewards associated with being a leader that fends off intruders; the rank of lionesses in the pride is reflected in these responses.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jahn |first=G. C. |year=1996 |title=Lioness Leadership |journal=Science |volume=271 |issue=5253 |page=1215 |doi=10.1126/science.271.5253.1215a |pmid=17820922 |bibcode=1996Sci...271.1215J |s2cid=5058849 }}</ref> The male or males associated with the pride must defend their relationship with the pride from outside males who may attempt to usurp them.<ref name=Estes/>

Asiatic lion prides differ in group composition. Male Asiatic lions are solitary or associate with up to three males, forming a loose pride while females associate with up to 12 other females, forming a stronger pride together with their cubs. Female and male lions associate only when mating.<ref name=Joslin1973>{{cite book |author=Joslin, P. |year=1973 |title=The Asiatic lion: a study of ecology and behaviour |location=University of Edinburgh, UK |publisher=Department of Forestry and Natural Resources}}</ref> Coalitions of males hold territory for a longer time than single lions. Males in coalitions of three or four individuals exhibit a pronounced hierarchy, in which one male dominates the others and mates more frequently.<ref name=Chakrabarti2017>{{cite journal |author=Chakrabarti, S.  |author2=Jhala, Y. V. |author2-link=Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala |year=2017 |title=Selfish partners: resource partitioning in male coalitions of Asiatic lions |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=28 |issue=6 |pages=1532–1539 |doi=10.1093/beheco/arx118 |pmid=29622932 |pmc=5873260}}</ref>