Final answer:
Group hunting is more effective for lions compared to solo hunting, as it allows for cooperative tactics that improve the success rate against prey living in protective herds.
Step-by-step explanation:
Is hunting solo or in groups more effective for lions? Lions, living in social structures called prides, find group hunting to be more efficient. Hunting in groups allows adult females to cooperate, increasing their success rate significantly. The adult males contribute to the pride's overall success by defending the territory from other predators. When the lions hunt collectively, they use strategies that can outmaneuver prey that may be too large or too fast for a single lion to tackle on its own. Moreover, the prey that lions often target, such as herbivores like zebras and elephants, live in herds which protect their young. The cooperative hunting strategy matches the defensive tactics of their prey.
Individual lions may occasionally hunt alone, especially if the prey is small, but the group dynamics and coordinated efforts in a pride are advantageous and typically yield better results. Sharing the captured prey within the pride promotes survival of all members, including the young and the weak. This demonstration of social hunting practices reflects the evolutionary advantage of cooperation within a species.