Tomeka Thobias Oddo, Kissui Bernard M, Ukio Ifura Godfrey, Mushi Frank R, Mremi Rudolf F, Roberts Nathan J, Holyoak Marcel, Jiang Guangshun
Feline Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Wildlife and Protected Area Northeast Forestry University Harbin China.
College of African Wildlife Management Mweka Moshi Tanzania.
Ecol Evol. 2025 Jul 28;15(8):e71787. doi: 10.1002/ece3.71787. eCollection 2025 Aug.
The African lion ( Linnaeus, 1758) has evolved complex associations in which individual survival is an interplay of cooperation among pride members. Although feeding behaviors of African lions are widely known, our understanding of how age and sex classes affect per capita intake of other individual members in a pride remains unclear. This study used long-term population monitoring data collected from 2004 to 2023 to assess how prey size and feeding group composition affect different age/sex class interactions and per capita food intake of African lion cubs, subadults, adult males, and adult females. The results indicate that African lion feeding group composition and interaction patterns at carcasses were affected by prey size. Cub per capita food intake was reduced by increased numbers of cubs and subadults. For subadults, the per capita intake was reduced as the number of cubs, subadults, and adult females increased. However, subadults increased their per capita intake rates when feeding together with both cubs and adult females. Adult females also showed competitive interactions when feeding at carcasses with cubs, subadults, and fellow adult females. Nevertheless, the adult female per capita intake was increased when more females fed with cubs or subadults and when feeding in combination with cubs and adult males. For adult male lions, only increased numbers of adult females led to a reduced per capita intake at carcasses, reflecting competition. These varied effects on per capita food intake suggest how age and sex-based composition of feeding groups play a role in the foraging success of African lions and how food availability may influence the demographic composition of prides.
非洲狮（林奈，1758年）已经进化出复杂的群体关系，其中个体的生存是狮群成员间合作的一种相互作用。虽然非洲狮的进食行为广为人知，但我们对于年龄和性别类别如何影响狮群中其他个体成员的人均摄入量仍不清楚。本研究使用了2004年至2023年收集的长期种群监测数据，以评估猎物大小和进食群体组成如何影响非洲狮幼崽、亚成年狮、成年雄狮和成年雌狮的不同年龄/性别类别间的相互作用以及人均食物摄入量。结果表明，非洲狮进食群体的组成和在猎物尸体处的互动模式受到猎物大小的影响。幼崽的人均食物摄入量会随着幼崽和亚成年狮数量的增加而减少。对于亚成年狮来说，随着幼崽、亚成年狮和成年雌狮数量的增加，其人均摄入量会减少。然而，当亚成年狮与幼崽和成年雌狮一起进食时，它们的人均摄入量会增加。成年雌狮在与幼崽、亚成年狮以及其他成年雌狮在猎物尸体处进食时也表现出竞争互动。尽管如此，当更多雌狮与幼崽或亚成年狮一起进食以及与幼崽和成年雄狮一起进食时，成年雌狮的人均摄入量会增加。对于成年雄狮而言，只有成年雌狮数量的增加会导致在猎物尸体处的人均摄入量减少，这反映了竞争。这些对人均食物摄入量的不同影响表明，基于年龄和性别的进食群体组成如何在非洲狮的觅食成功中发挥作用，以及食物可获得性如何可能影响狮群的种群组成。
