Lion | August 22, 2023 11:12 AM | Alisa

Battle of the Sexes In The Animal World

The guardians are regularly challenged by younger males, like these, looking for lionesses of their own. As time passes, the threats become more serious. At the prospect of a battle, the females and cubs make themselves scarce.

The residents are defiant. So, a demonstration of male power is inevitable. After their brutal mauling, the overthrown brothers withdraw. After several years in charge, they’ve had their day. Now the interests of the new males and those of the lionesses differ.

Without their fathers to protect them, the cubs are in peril. They’re systematically hunted down and dispatched. The lionesses have no defence against the males’ superior strength. For the mother, a year’s parental effort is wasted.

But for the males, the loss of the cubs is in their interest. It causes the bereft lionesses quickly to come into season. However, the lionesses need a strong coalition of males for their future protection
So, they must prevent them from fighting over sex. They do this by being sexually insatiable.

As each lioness comes into heat, she must be mated every 20 minutes. Over three days, a lioness can copulate 300 times. When one male has had enough, she allows the other to take over. keeping them both happy. Three months later, the lionesses started producing new batches of cubs, but these little creatures now have nothing to fear from their awesome guardians.

The mothers have cleverly confused the issue of paternity. As both brothers mated, both males must work together to protect the family, until one day they, too, will be deposed.