Do male lions ever take over their maternal pride?

Question

Or basically can young males ever kick out their fathers? Do they ever return to the pride they grew up with when they are old enough (which could result in inbreeding)?

Answer 1

It is very, very rare. Usually, young males leave their natal pride when they reach sexual maturity, at between two and three years of age. They will spend a few years wandering as nomads until they have reached their full size and strength, and will then attempt to take over a pride of their own. In this way they avoid any chance of inbreeding with their mothers, sisters, aunts, etc. Females remain with their natal pride all their lives, and in their case inbreeding is avoided by the fact that the average tenure of a male with a pride is between two and three years - meaning that by the time a male's daughters are old enough to breed, the likelihood is he will have been overthrown by new males.

However, in very rare and unusual circumstances, males may remain with the pride they were born into and end up breeding with their relatives. These prides generally do not survive beyond two or three generations of inbreeding, due to the detrimental effects this produces. One such pride, living in Botswana, was well-documented by Dereck and Beverley Joubert in their book 'Hunting With The Moon: The Lions Of Savuti'.