Egalitarianism in female African lions

C Packer1, A E Pusey, L E Eberly

  • 1Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA. packer@biosci.umn.edu

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|July 28, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Female African lions exhibit egalitarian breeding, with companions producing similar offspring numbers. This symmetry arises because lions cannot control each other's reproduction due to high fighting costs and communal care dependence.

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