What's the main difference between solitary and social animals?

Question

Of course we all know that solitary animals are often found wandering alone and social animals are often found in a group.. but are there any other factors that distinct the two? maybe foraging techniques or territorial systems?

Answer 1

Well, let's look at the big cats. Comparing the tiger and the lion.

The tiger is the solitary animal; you'll only find more than one together if they are paired for mating (they don't mate for life, either) or they are a mother and her children. They are larger than the lion, and more capable of fiercer hunting techniques.

The lion, on the otherhand, lives in groups (prides). The males seem to always have to prove something, and they obviously need a crowd of ladies to show off to. A showoff wouldn't last well on his own. But lions work together to hunt their prey, so if they were alone, they wouldn't last as easily.

But because the tiger is in the jungle, where it is easier to sneak up on prey without assistance, and the lion lives in the open plains of Africa, where teamwork is crucial, it's harder to compare.

So another social animal that can cross paths with lions is the cheetah. They have the agility though, to be able to work alone. However, they often resort to scavaging, while working in a pack could equal a full meal.

Tigers probably don't bother with territory; there isn't enough that they'd need to overly worry about crossing paths anyway. The lion, however marks trees, grasses, his own females, just to prove who is the boss.

Hopefully you were able to find some differances.

Answer 2

groups have a pack leader that has proven himself as the strongest and then the solitary would be his own man so to speak so he would be very dominate of his area if anyone approached. Groups hunt for food in packs where as solitary dont. There is bunchs of stuff they do that are different between the two and it depends on the type of animal too.