Watch Four Male Lions Battle for Supremacy in Intense Footage

key point:

• While visiting the Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa, several guides and tourists witnessed four lions fighting for territory.
• The fight was sparked by two male lions trying to expand their territory in search of more female mates.
• Lions live in groups, called prides, usually consisting of a male lion, several female lions and their cubs.

Watching animals go to the end of their lives is never easy, especially when they are in the prime of life. Sadly, that’s what we see in this video, with four male lions battling for territorial supremacy and the last one being killed. That seems like a waste, especially when some lion populations are vulnerable. However, this is nature’s way of ensuring “survival of the fittest”, and how the strongest and most powerful individuals reproduce and pass their genes on to the next generation. This is what ensures the survival of the species.

Four Lions

This particular shot was captured in the stunning Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa. Several jeepneys full of tourists witnessed the scene, and you can hear an explanation from one of the guides or read the description in the video notes.

Two lion brothers in the park’s Addo area appear to have decided to expand their territory so they can mate with more lionesses. So they went south, where they came across the territories of two lions, Kwandwe and Monomoholo. Two visiting lions advertised their presence by calling out, and sure enough, they were quickly noticed. Kwandwe and Monomoholo started calling back and the four pulled away. At this point, the visiting men seem to have lost confidence and may be better off thinking about their decision. But it was too late and a physical altercation began. Kwandwe and Monomoholo overcame an Addo male, so his brothers came back and tried to help him, but they were overpowered. We are told that it ended with the death of a visiting brother.

Lions mating and cubs

Lions live in parts of Africa and Asia and are the largest cat species on the continent. Male lions are very territorial and will happily kill a rival if they can. Males are stronger and taller than females, with noticeably longer, darker hair around their heads. This is thought to be related to their testosterone levels.

Lions live in social groups known as prides, but these groups consist primarily of females and their cubs. Most hunting is also done by females. At the same time, there is usually one male (or a small group of up to three males) who controls the territory where the pride lives. They do this by walking around it and marking trees and rocks with urine to warn rival males. The male has mating rights to all the females, but his position is constantly threatened by other males who may want to expand their territory. That’s exactly what we see in this video, with very tragic results.

Is this normal behavior?

Yes, if a male lion is threatened by another male trying to expand his territory, he will do whatever it takes to defend his pride and his territory. They will fight to the death. If the new male wins, he usually does infanticide, which means he kills any cubs in the new pride that are still dependent on their mother. He did this to ensure that his genes survived.

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