Lions will kill leopards and cheetahs in order to protect their territory from competitors. Male lions will often kill cubs, including older cubs, that are not theirs in order to free the lioness to come into heat again so he can mate with her. Often, cubs that have been forced out of the pride by a new male will stick together in order to protect themselves from the new king, who has an easy time killing one at a time, but more difficulty taking on 3 or 4 large cubs.
Today, we saw 2 old males (you can tell because they have full, very dark manes) walking alongside the main road through the Serengeti about 1/4 mile apart. Our guides speculated that they had been kicked out of the pride by a younger male. Their big cuts and ratty appearance made that seem likely. Since male lions depend on the females to hunt for them, solitary males often starve to death. If they team up, they have a better chance of killing smaller prey. Antelope are usually too fast for the slower, old males.
The pride will usually consist of several lionesses (sometimes up to 7), a large male, and the older and new cubs of the lionesses. Today, we watched 2 cubs about a month old start to nurse from one of the lionesses. Soon, one wandered over to another lioness and started to nurse. The pride's moms will nurse any of the cubs and will also take care of each other's cubs when some of the lionesses go off to hunt. Older cubs can stay until the dominant male decides they are a threat. Then, they're off on their own, with sisters and brothers often staying together for life after leaving their original pride.
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