[[He kills because he personally needs to eat.”]]
Yeah not so much- sure he kills because he’s hungry, but they also kill hyenas, cheetahs, baboons, other lions from different tribes, lion cubs, etc etc etc- all of which have nothing to do with hunger-
I think it’s their primordial instinct to live and kill if necessary to do that. I believe even mankind has that instinct and we’re supposed to be the top species on the planet.
The hyena will kill lion cubs. The hyena will kill lionesses. The hyena will eat prey animals that could otherwise be eaten by the lion.
The male lion’s size is optimized for his niche. He’s big enough so that two males can destroy as many hyenas as care to fight. He’s big enough to help with Cape Buffalo and giraffes. But not so big that he can’t run fast. Not so big there’s not enough food for him.Not so big the lionesses can’t push back if he’s totally out of line.