Video: Three lions and their dramatic clash with the defenders

At about three years of age, young male lions leave their pride and try to find a pride of their own. This involves taking over the pride of another male and, unsurprisingly, this leads to a lot of conflict. Only one in eight male lions survive to adulthood and get to breed to produce cubs of their own. You may also see groups of males ganging together to control territories (which can be thousands of acres in size) and they can kill hundreds of rival males and cubs in an attempt to maintain dominance.

Lions are the only big cats to live in family units called prides. Other big cats live solitary lives, except when breeding or raising cubs. A lion pride may include up to three males, a dozen females, and their young. All of a pride's female lionesses and cubs are typically related. At around two to three years old, young males leave the pride and attempt to take over another male's pride. The social structure of the pride is based on specific roles. Lionesses are the primary hunters, while dominant males are responsible for protecting the pride's territory. Lion prey includes antelopes, zebras, wildebeest, buffalo, and other grassland animals. These animals are often larger and faster than an individual lion. By hunting together, lions are able to exhaust and kill their prey.

Video: Three lions and their territorial take over

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The video shared on YouTube by Great Plains Conservation was captured by their guest Jon Leman. Great Plains Conservation is a conservation organization that helps manage several wildlife reserves in Kenya and Botswana. "Hippo chases lion at Selinda Explorers Camp," they wrote as the caption of the video. The video shows three lions crossing a river with a fourth one standing on the bank. Soon after, an angry hippo charges and attacks the lion trio in an apparent show of strength and territorial dominance.

While the females usually live with the pride for life, the males often stay for only two to four years. After that they go off on their own or are evicted by other males who take over the pride. When a new male becomes part of the pride it is not unusual for him to kill all the cubs, ensuring that all future cubs will have his genes. The main job of males in the pride is defending the pride's territory. A male's loud roar, usually heard after sunset, can carry for as far as five miles (eight kilometers). The roar warns off intruders and helps round up stray members of the pride.

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