The basic lion social organization are resident prides: occupying hunting areas of a size that can sustain the pride during times when water and food are in short supply. Lion densities, home territory size, and social group size increase and decrease with habitat suitability and prey abundance, generally larger in moist grasslands where the game is plentiful and smaller in the drier bush with fewer prey animals.
Home territories range from 20km2 in the most suitable habitats to more than 500km2. The average area of nine Serengeti pride was c. 200km2. Pride ranges and territories may overlap but each pride maintains a core area where most activities are undertaken with little interaction with other lion groups.
Territories are stable except in periods of hardship. If the lions in an area dwindle away (as a result of disease for example) this will be followed by an influx of competing lions to claim the territory.
