Expert: Jonathan - 1/11/2010

Question
Hi again Jonathan!

Could a pride of Barbary Lions(2 males over 235 kgs and 5 females) survive in Yellowstone?

Thanks ;)

Answer
Hi again Luis! How's it going?

Yellowstone would be tricky for Lions due to the changing extremes in the weather, especially during the winter. Lions are not built for running and hunting in icy, snowy conditions. Ambush (which is essential for a Lioness hunting), would be extremely limited. Lions are not conditioned for stamina when hunting, and need cover for hunting in order to create short, spurts of speed to catch their prey. Catching such prey like Caribou, Moose in open spaces would be extremely difficult. It would probably force them to target smaller prey as a result, which would not be sufficient for a pride's survival.

Competition is another problem. Brown Bears will be able to hold their own against Lions enough to establish some kind of predator hierachy. Prides of Lions can overwhelm packs of Wolves anyday, but the sheer or abundance of Wolf and Bear numbers would mean they would losing a lot of kills to other predators.

Territory is another issue. Lions have very specific, fixed territories that cannot change. In times when their prey moves on, they will not be able to follow and could lead to severe cases of starvation and mal-nourishment as a result.

Yellowstone would be a very precarious environment for Lions, as its not their natural terrain. There's too many natural issues to contend with. It's not even that big a threat of interspecies conflicts, its the weather and availability of prey.

I hope that's helped Luis. I always enjoy answering your questions, so anytime!

Keep asking,

Jonathan.