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Lions
- Lionesses have 1 to 6 cubs in a litter.
- Lionesses keep their cubs hidden until they are 8 weeks old, when they join the pride.
- A male takeover resets the reproductive clocks of all the females in a pride such that pride mates often give birth synchronously.
- Mothers of similarly aged cubs form a “crèche” and remain together for 1–2 years.
- Crèche-mates often nurse each other’s cubs, though they give priority to their own offspring, followed by the offspring of their closest relatives.
- Mothers of single cubs produce the same amount of milk as mothers of large litters, and single-cub mothers are the least discriminating in their nursing.
- The primary advantage of forming a crèche is that a group of females is better able to protect their young against infanticide.
- Males are 1.5 times larger than females, so a male can easily overpower a lone mother, whereas a crèche with at least two mothers can successfully protect at least some of their cubs against an extra-pride male.
- Mothers of surviving cubs will not mate again until their offspring are at least 18 months of age but will mate within days if their cubs are lost.
- Infanticide accounts for a quarter of all cub deaths.
Lion father makes sure cubs get food
This lion father keeps the females off the kill to allow hits cubs to feed.
