Brotherhood

The Afrikaans cartoon of Louis, the Lowveld Lion never informed us that Louis had a brother. The baboon that always hangs around for chats with Louis is nowhere to be seen. Maybe the brother eats baboons, or particularly talkative ones.

Coalitions of two or three male lions may be born in the same pride or team up later. They will not necessarily be brothers or even related, even if they grew up together.

When young males reaching puberty are expelled from their parental pride by the dominant male simultaneously, they tend to remain together for life. Such coalitions will share responsibilities of protecting a pride or prides of females living in their territory. They will also share the marking of their territory and mating with the females in the pride. This happens on a first come, first served basis, respecting each other’s rights without jealousy or strife.

A coalition of up to nine males is on record. Up to five separate female prides, each consisting of several related females and their offspring may live in the territory of a large male coalition.

The bond for life between the males of a coalition is thought to be stronger than the bonds between the females of a pride or the bond between male and female lions (Riëtte, 2016).