How large is the average lion pride?

The size and composition of prides and even groups can change from day to day. A lion pride is not a cohesive unit in the sense that members are together all the time. Members, or even small sub groups of the pride, may be widely scattered.

Pride sizes are normally measured by the number of females in the pride, as males are nomadic and do not form permanent member of the pride. The ratio of adult females to males is usually two to one, but a pride studied in the Sweni area, southeast of Satara Rest Camp, achieved a size of 42 animals for a while, which consisted of two adult males, 10 adult females, one sub-adult male and 29 cubs. Females usually remain in the natal pride, while males leave the pride at between two and four years of age, with litter mates tending to form lifelong coalitions.