Lions form prides to protect and expand their territory like urban street gangs.
The bigger the gang, the more successful the lions are, information that could help conserve wild lions.
Ecologists Anna Mosser and Craig Packer collated data about the prides' behaviour over 38 years, including where they ranged, their composition and how they interacted.
Larger prides with more adult females not only produced more cubs, as might be expected, but the females within these prides were less likely to be wounded or killed by other lions.
They compete for turf. The bigger the gang, the more successful it is at controlling the best areas.
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