Why are lions social?

[BrettNortje]

I find it strange that cats are so antisocial, yet lions work as a group. canines work as a group and are very social.

Apart from domesticated cats, why are lions the only felines to work as a group?

 

[zyzygy]

I find it strange that cats are so antisocial, yet lions work as a group. canines work as a group and are very social.

Apart from domesticated cats, why are lions the only felines to work as a group?

I think that it's a union issue. Cheetahs are affiliated.

 

[PoS]

I find it strange that cats are so antisocial, yet lions work as a group. canines work as a group and are very social.

Apart from domesticated cats, why are lions the only felines to work as a group?

I dunno. Go up to one and ask them.

 

[BrettNortje]

I dunno. Go up to one and ask them.

Yeah right!

 

[zyzygy]

Yeah right!

It should be easy for you. Just switch your fire starting chakras to feline chat mode. Or maybe the faeries can help.

 

[fmw]

I find it strange that cats are so antisocial, yet lions work as a group. canines work as a group and are very social.

Apart from domesticated cats, why are lions the only felines to work as a group?

Lions hunt swift herding antelopes that can outrun them over all but very short distances. And they do it on open savannahs. The group hunt simply makes it more effective to catch their prey. Another Savannah hunter, the Cheetah, can outrun its prey. Tigers, Pumas and other cats hunt in areas where they can stalk effectively unseen. It is all about doing what you need to do to get lunch.

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

I find it strange that cats are so antisocial, yet lions work as a group. canines work as a group and are very social.

Apart from domesticated cats, why are lions the only felines to work as a group?

Well, firstly, domestic cats don't generally work as a group. Just, like all animals, they will adjust to their circumstances as need be. I am of the opinion, as a life-long cat owner, that cats are best kept on their own unless they were raised with the other cat in question.

Lions... well, they do and they don't.

Females do work together. But they aren't loyal to males at all, because males generally aren't very helpful for hunting.

As to why? Well, every species is different. Why are bonobos and chimps so different, despite their relatively close relation?

It makes sense, as such big cats who rely so much on endurance in a plain environment (which is less true of most other cat species, and cooperation has never been a strong point of cats as a species) to catch their pray, that they might work together out of necessity. Cats in general are not good at endurance, so in this environment, it's better for them to work together.

The environment makes it so, basically. And they still tend to be pretty picky when it comes to letting males be part of the pride, since males are less essential for hunting, and hunting is really the only reason lions work together.

 

[joG]

I find it strange that cats are so antisocial, yet lions work as a group. canines work as a group and are very social.

Apart from domesticated cats, why are lions the only felines to work as a group?

Our cat has a number of feline friends she meets every evening. They meet and greet each other and then sit around doing something that looks suspiciously like gossip.

 

[nota bene]

My man-cat, the half-feral bunny hunter, grooms my doggie, and she grooms him too.

 

[Vox]

You should read up on groups of feral housecats (a contradiction, I know).

Groups of females cooperate to care for the young.

Young males will often hunt together.

Only older males are really solitary......and there are exceptions to that rule.

Cats seem antisocial to us because their lives with cat owners often keep them isolated.