Trespassing Male Lion Is Ganged Up on and Pinned Down by Six Lionesses Protecting Their Cubs

This lone male lion is beginning to discover that he has made a big mistake. He is pinned to the floor by several lionesses. One is gripping him with a powerful bite to his face while the others are also giving him warning bites on his body.

As the clip at the bottom of this page shows, male lions need to be careful that they do not upset the females in the pride!

How Do Lions Normally Behave?

Lions are very social animals and live in groups called prides. These are matriarchal groups comprising females who are genetically related. Amongst the females, there is no hierarchy and they work together to raise their cubs. A lion pride can be as small as three females but some as large as 20 or more have been recorded.

Males can join the pride – this could be a single male or a group. They have the breeding rights to the females. The males often patrol the edges of the territory and the females defend the core areas. Males only stay with the pride for two or three years but the females are there for life. The males tend to stay apart from the females apart from when they are mating or there is food available!

Why Do Female Lions Attack Males?

Sometimes disputes arise over food. Also, female lions have been known to attack older males because they think that he is no longer suitable to rule the pride and want to make way for a younger and fitter male. This sort of situation is usually sorted out when a younger male contender arrives on the scene. Typically, the two lions will fight and the younger lion will end up victorious. However, sometimes the lionesses take matters into their own hands. This may sound brutal, but it ensures that the next generation is sired by the male with the strongest genes who is the most able to defend the pride.

Another reason may be connected with infanticide. This is where a new intruder male takes over the pride and kills the existing cubs. Under these circumstances, the females will vigorously protect the cubs and have been seen ganging up on the intruder male. Both males and females can be injured severely during these encounters. Some females have even been killed whilst defending their cubs. In some areas of Africa, more than a quarter of all cubs are killed by an invading male! It’s easy to see why these females were so annoyed! 

Watch the Fascinating Clip Below