Spatio-temporal partitioning and coexistence between leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) and Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) in Gir protected area, Gujarat, India.

Time and space are essential niche dimensions along which species tend to coexist. We assessed spatiotemporal resource partitioning between leopards and lions and hypothesized the differential use of spatiotemporal resources by leopards with respect to lions. We used a systematic camera trap survey to collect the data at 50 sites. The data were analyzed using overlap indices, and non-parametric test statistics to assess the spatiotemporal associations. Leopard and lion were crepuscular and nocturnal in their activity pattern. They did not segregate temporally and showed substantially high overlap and strong temporal association. Leopard segregates with lion spatially by overlapping less and showing no association in space use at specific camera trap sites. Leopards showed preference for dense habitats, while the lion preferred both dense and open habitats. Leopard showed moderate-overlap and positive association with key prey species, i.e., chital and sambar. Lion, however showed low site-specific overlap and negative association with its crucial prey species, i.e., sambar and wild pig. We conclude that site-specific spatial partitioning along with differential affinities for habitat is helping leopards to partition their spatio-temporal resources with lions and hence facilitate coexistence of leopards with lions in Gir forest.

Genetic insights into dispersal distance and disperser fitness of African lions (Panthera leo) from the latitudinal extremes of the Kruger National Park, South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Female lions generally do not disperse far beyond their natal range, while males can disperse distances of over 200 km. However, in bush-like ecosystems dispersal distances less than 25 km are reported. Here, we investigate dispersal in lions sampled from the northern and southern extremes of Kruger National Park, a bush-like ecosystem in South Africa where bovine tuberculosis prevalence ranges from low to high across a north-south gradient. RESULTS: A total of 109 individuals sampled from 1998 to 2004 were typed using 11 microsatellite markers, and mitochondrial RS-3 gene sequences were generated for 28 of these individuals. Considerable north-south genetic differentiation was observed in both datasets. Dispersal was male-biased and generally further than 25 km, with long-distance male gene flow (75-200 km, detected for two individuals) confirming that male lions can travel large distances, even in bush-like ecosystems. In contrast, females generally did not disperse further than 20 km, with two distinctive RS-3 gene clusters for northern and southern females indicating no or rare long-distance female dispersal. However, dispersal rate for the predominantly non-territorial females from southern Kruger (fraction dispersers ≥0.68) was higher than previously reported. Of relevance was the below-average body condition of dispersers and their low presence in prides, suggesting low fitness. CONCLUSIONS: Large genetic differences between the two sampling localities, and low relatedness among males and high dispersal rates among females in the south, suggestive of unstable territory structure and high pride turnover, have potential implications for spread of diseases and the management of the Kruger lion population.

Numerical assessment in the wild: insights from social carnivores.

Playback experiments have proved to be a useful tool to investigate the extent to which wild animals understand numerical concepts and the factors that play into their decisions to respond to different numbers of vocalizing conspecifics. In particular, playback experiments have broadened our understanding of the cognitive abilities of historically understudied species that are challenging to test in the traditional laboratory, such as members of the Order Carnivora. Additionally, playback experiments allow us to assess the importance of numerical information versus other ecologically important variables when animals are making adaptive decisions in their natural habitats. Here, we begin by reviewing what we know about quantity discrimination in carnivores from studies conducted in captivity. We then review a series of playback experiments conducted with wild social carnivores, including African lions, spotted hyenas and wolves, which demonstrate that these animals can assess the number of conspecifics calling and respond based on numerical advantage. We discuss how the wild studies complement those conducted in captivity and allow us to gain insights into why wild animals may not always respond based solely on differences in quantity. We then consider the key roles that individual discrimination and cross-modal recognition play in the ability of animals to assess the number of conspecifics vocalizing nearby. Finally, we explore new directions for future research in this area, highlighting in particular the need for further work on the cognitive basis of numerical assessment skills and experimental paradigms that can be effective in both captive and wild settings.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The origins of numerical abilities'.

Comparison of Subjective Well-Being and Personality Assessments in the Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia), and African Lion (Panthera leo).

The study of subjective well-being in nonhuman animals is growing in the field of psychology, but there are still only a few published studies and the focus is on primates. To consider whether the construct of subjective well-being could be found in another mammal, this study aimed to assess subjective well-being in felids and to examine its association with personality. Personality is one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of well-being in humans. This relationship could have important implications for other species, because personality has also been shown to affect health outcomes including stress, morbidity, and mortality. As in previous studies in nonhuman animals, the study results revealed that subjective well-being was related to agreeableness/openness and neuroticism in clouded leopards, neuroticism in snow leopards, and impulsiveness and neuroticism in African lions. The implications of these results for health outcomes and the welfare of animals in captivity are discussed. More research on any direct links among personality, subjective well-being, and these outcomes is important to advancing this field and adding another tool for improving captive animals' lives.

Lion, ungulate, and visitor reactions to playbacks of lion roars at Zoo Atlanta.

Felids in captivity are often inactive and elusive in zoos, leading to a frustrating visitor experience. Eight roars were recorded from an adult male lion and played back over speakers as auditory enrichment to benefit the lions while simultaneously enhancing the zoo visitor experience. In addition, ungulates in an adjacent exhibit were observed to ensure that the novel location and increased frequency of roars did not lead to a stress or fear response. The male lion in this study roared more in the playback phase than in the baseline phases while not increasing any behaviors that would indicate compromised welfare. In addition, zoo visitors remained at the lion exhibit longer during playback. The nearby ungulates never exhibited any reactions stronger than orienting to playbacks, identical to their reactions to live roars. Therefore, naturalistic playbacks of lion roars are a potential form of auditory enrichment that leads to more instances of live lion roars and enhances the visitor experience without increasing the stress levels of nearby ungulates or the lion themselves, who might interpret the roar as that of an intruder.

Pride diaries: sex, brain size and sociality in the African lion (Panthera leo) and cougar (Puma concolor).

The purpose of this study was to examine if differences in social life histories correspond to intraspecific variation in total or regional brain volumes in the African lion (Panthera leo) and cougar (Puma concolor). African lions live in gregarious prides usually consisting of related adult females, their dependent offspring, and a coalition of immigrant males. Upon reaching maturity, male lions enter a nomadic and often, solitary phase in their lives, whereas females are mainly philopatric and highly social throughout their lives. In contrast, the social life history does not differ between male and female cougars; both are solitary. Three-dimensional virtual endocasts were created using computed tomography from the skulls of 14 adult African lions (8 male, 6 female) and 14 cougars (7 male, 7 female). Endocranial volume and basal skull length were highly correlated in African lions (r = 0.59, p < 0.05) and in cougars (r = 0.67, p < 0.01). Analyses of total endocranial volume relative to skull length revealed no sex differences in either African lions or cougars. However, relative anterior cerebrum volume comprised primarily of frontal cortex and surface area was significantly greater in female African lions than males, while relative posterior cerebrum volume and surface area was greater in males than females. These differences were specific to the neocortex and were not found in the solitary cougar, suggesting that social life history is linked to sex-specific neocortical patterns in these species. We further hypothesize that increased frontal cortical volume in female lions is related to the need for greater inhibitory control in the presence of a dominant male aggressor.

Development of cooperative territoriality in juvenile lions.

African lions, Panthera leo, engage in many cooperative activities including hunting, care of young, and group territoriality, but the contribution of juvenile lions to these activities has never been documented. Here we present experimental evidence that juvenile lionesses make a gradual transition to group-territorial defence between weaning (8 months) and sexual maturity (42 months). When challenged by simulated intruders played from a loud-speaker, juvenile females (but not males) become progressively more likely to join the adult females in territorial defence with age, and their behaviour is affected by both the number of defending adults and the number of intruders. We interpret the ability of juveniles to assess relative numbers as an adaptation for assessing the risk of territorial conflict according to their own fighting ability, and the ability of their pride of successfully defend the territory. The difference between the sexes reflects the greater value of the natal territory to philopatric females. Adult females display a variety of strategies when defending the territory, including unconditional and conditional forms of cooperation. We show here that individuals display the rudiments of these strategies as juveniles.

Complex cooperative strategies in group-territorial African lions.

Female lions (Panthera leo) showed persistent individual differences in the extent to which they participated in group-territorial conflict. When intergroup encounters were simulated by playback of aggressive vocalizations, some individuals consistently led the approach to the recorded intruder, whereas others lagged behind and avoided the risks of fighting. The lead females recognized that certain companions were laggards but failed to punish them, which suggests that cooperation is not maintained by reciprocity. Modification of the "odds" in these encounters revealed that some females joined the group response when they were most needed, whereas other lagged even farther behind. The complexity of these responses emphasizes the great diversity of individual behavior in this species and the inadequacy of current theory to explain cooperation in large groups.

Female lions can identify potentially infanticidal males from their roars.

Despite evidence from several bird, fish and mammal species that listeners can discriminate between the vocalizations of familiar and unfamiliar adult conspecifics, direct links between discriminatory abilities and fitness benefits have been difficult to identify. In free-ranging populations of African lions (Panthera leo), females with cubs face a substantial threat from one particular category of unfamiliar individuals: infanticidal males. Here we use playback experiments to demonstrate that females with cubs can distinguish immediately between roars from their own resident males (the fathers of the cubs) and those from unfamiliar, potentially infanticidal males. Although they remain relaxed when played roars from resident males, they immediately become agitated on hearing unfamiliar males and retreat rapidly with their cubs if the latter have reached about 4.5 months of age. These responses are not simply a function of the roarers being unfamiliar, for when played the roars of unfamiliar females, females with cubs consistently approach the loudspeaker. Furthermore, females often move toward the cubs in response to playbacks of unfamiliar males but not in response to playbacks of unfamiliar females or resident males. Our results suggest how females with cubs might, by quickly detecting and categorizing unfamiliar intruders within their territory, protect their cubs from infanticidal males and expel intruding females. Distinguishing between individuals on the basis of their vocal characteristics could therefore confer direct fitness benefits on discriminating lionesses.