The Serengeti Lion

The Serengeti Lionwon the National Book Award in 1973. "This is an important book, not just for its valuable information on lions, but for its broad, open,and intelligent approach to problems that cut across the fields of behavior, populations, ecology, wildlife management,evolution, anthropology, and comparative biology. "--Richard G. Van Gelder,Bioscience

George B. Schaller is a senior conservationist at the Wildlife Conservation Society and Vice President of Panthera, a foundation devoted to the conservation of wild cats. He is the author of many books, including The Mountain Gorilla and The Last Panda, both published by the University of Chicago Press.

 

 

 

 

Acknowledgments I. The Study 1. Introduction 2. The Serengeti Region Physiography Vegetation Seasons 3. Study Methods General Tagging Radio Telemetry Food Habits Age Classes II. The Lion 4. Group Structure and Movement The Pride The Pride Area The Nomad 5. Behavior Within the Group Communication The Daily Activity Pattern Group Organization Mating Behavior Relations of Young to Pride Play 6. Population Dynamics Population Size Population Composition Reproduction Mortality Population Trend 7. Food Habits The Prey Population Food Habits Predation in Relation to Sex, Age, and Health of Prey 8. The Hunt Behavior of Prey Main Environmental Factors Affecting the Hunt Hunting Behavior Hunting Success Hunting for Large Prey Relation of Prey Size to Sex of Lion Killing It Learning to Hunt Killing Behavior at the Kill III. Other Predators The Leopard Distribution and Numbers Movement Population Dynamics Social Structure Predation 10. The Cheetah Distribution and Numbers Movements Population Dynamics Social Structure Predation 11. The Wild Dog Distribution and Numbers Movements Population Dynamics Social Structure Predation 12. Other Predators Spotted Hyena Man Jackals Other Mammals Reptiles and Birds IV. Summary and Conclusions 13. Dynamics of Predator Social Systems Social System Social Structure Communication Land Tenure System Population Dynamics Hominid Behavior 14. The Dynamics of Predation Ecological Separation of Predators Antipredator Behavior Sex, Age, and Health of Prey Killed by Predators The Impact of Predation on Prey Populations Conclusion Appendixes Appendix A. Common and scientific names of wild mammals, birds, and reptiles mentioned in the text Appendix B. Tables 1 to 79 Appendix C. An estimate of animal numbers and biomass in the Serengeti Park made by Hendrichs (1970) References Cited Index