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The Lion : Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation of an Iconic Species / Craig Packer ; with color photographs by Daniel Rosengren.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Packer, Craig, author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Lion--Behavior--Africa, East.
- Lion.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (377 pages)
- Edition:
- First edition.
- Place of Publication:
- Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2023]
- Summary:
- "Lions lead intricate lives. They hunt together, raise cubs together, and defend territories together. But though life at the top of the food chain may mean that lions have little to fear from other species - they can easily dominate every other carnivore in their midst - they still must constantly safeguard against the threat posed by other lions. Each day is dominated by the demands of raising a family while protecting themselves against enemies endowed with the same strengths and skills. Biologist Craig Packer has spent his career studying the African lion, one of the most fascinating animals on earth. In this book, he synthesizes his decades of research in the Serengeti into an up-to-date portrait of the African lion, and reveals how he and his colleagues have come to understand this creature's behavior, ecology, and conservation. Packer opens the book by providing readers with background on lions' territory, daily behavior, lifespan, and physiology. From there he delves more deeply into lion society, illustrating the complexity of lion life from cub rearing and foraging to competition with other lions. In the final chapters, Packer zooms out to summarize what is known about lion ecological abundance and distribution as well as their conservation status. Not surprisingly, lions are increasingly threatened; however, Packer ends his book on a hopeful note, pointing to programs that are successfully protecting lion populations"-- Provided by publisher.
- Contents:
- Cover
- Contents
- Preface
- 1. Introduction
- A Lion Primer
- Key Points
- 2. Lion Social Structure
- The Basic System
- Social Dominance
- Reproductive Success
- Pride Persistence versus Coalition Longevity
- 3. Infanticide and Expulsion
- After the Storm
- Synchronizing the Reproductive Clock
- The Academic Politics of Infanticide
- 4. Cub Rearing
- From the Den to the Crèche
- Nursing Behavior
- Non-offspring Nursing across Mammals
- Babysitting
- What about Grandma?
- What Keeps the Crèche Honest?
- Littering
- It's a Girl! It's a Boy!! It's Three Boys and a Girl . . .
- 5. Mating Competition and Paternal Care
- Within-Coalition Competition
- One for All and All for One?
- Why Are Large Coalitions So Rare?
- Father(s) of the Pride
- I Love You, Dad, but . . .
- 6. The Lion's Mane
- Manes and Wounding
- Manes versus Male Quality
- What Do the Lions Think?
- Why Lions? Why Manes?
- 7. Foraging Behavior
- Background
- Hunting in Groups-or Not . . .
- But Do They Cooperate When They Are Together?
- 8. Intergroup Competition
- Intergroup Conflict
- Blood on the Tracks
- War Games of the Sexes
- Intergenerational-Intergroup Competition
- Groups Begetting Groups-of Both Sexes
- 9. The Evolution of Lion Sociality
- The Three Rules of Lion Real Estate
- The Landscape of Female Sociality
- Pride Size Revisited
- The Origins of Male Sociality
- The Lion: The Paragon of Group Living
- 10. Population Regulation
- Serengeti: Tracking Lions in a Changing Environment
- Top-Down Population Regulation: Predation, Infanticide, and Disease
- Ngorongoro Crater: Disease versus Density
- Keeping It in the Family
- 11. Interspecific Interactions
- Lions and Their Prey.
- Aren't Predators and Prey Supposed to Show Population Cycles?
- The Savanna Landscape of Fear
- Lions versus the Other Large Carnivores
- Lions, Hyenas, and Possible "Trophic Cascades"
- Lions versus Hyenas and the Evolution of Lion Sociality
- The Lion's Place in the Web
- 12. Lion Conservation
- Infectious Disease
- Human-Lion Conflict
- Sport Hunting
- Bushmeat Hunting
- The Future
- Afterword
- Acknowledgments
- Appendix
- References
- Index.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.
- Description based on print version record.
- ISBN:
- 9780691235950
- 0691235953
- OCLC:
- 1355220194
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