Male lions have been labeled as kings of the jungle for quite some time now. But what is their official label? What is the technical term used for an adult male lion called?
The answer may surprise you because there isn’t an officially used technical term for adult male lions other than just saying lion.
Unofficially, male lions are called many different terms depending on what group they are a part of (coalition, pride, etc.) and whether that group consists of only adult male lions or females and males.
Let’s get into all these unofficial and official terms for what male lions are called so you can better understand the various terms you may hear when someone is describing an adult, male lion.
What Is a Male Lion Called?
The official term for a male lion is simply just “lion”. There is no other “official” term that describes a male lion other than just calling them a lion.
A female lion is called a lioness and a group of female lions are called lionesses for plural, but male lions are just called lions and don’t officially go by any other name.
You don’t have distinctions in adult male lions as you may see in other species such as domesticated house cats, which usually refer to adult male cats as tomcats.
What Is a Young Male Lion Called?
A young male lion or baby lion is called a cub. This goes for young males and females as the name is gender-neutral.
Young male lions are called cubs usually until between the ages of 2 and 3 and are typically fully grown between the ages of 3 and 4.
When young male lions are between the ages of 2 and 3, they are classified as sub-adults – but some can be classified as sub-adults between the ages of 1 and 2, depending on growth and maturity.
When male lions become fully grown adults, they are simply just known as “lions”.
What Is a Group of Male Lions Called?
A group of male lions is called a coalition. This is different from a pride because this group only consists of male lions that roam the land and doesn’t include any lionesses.
In short, coalitions are a group of male lions while a pride will consist of one or more male lions and up to ten or more lionesses.
A coalition of male lions is usually made up of male lions that are relatives (brothers, cousins, etc.) that were once part of a pride.
But it is also possible for non-related male lions to join up and start a coalition.
Other terms you may hear to describe a group of male lions include “bachelors” and “rouges”.
What Is a Lone Male Lion Called?
A lone male lion doesn’t have a distinct name as compared to other lions. A lone male lion is just called a lion.
Some terms you may see for a lone male lion include bachelor, loaner, lone male, and solitary male but there is no official term to describe a lone male lion.
Male lions that are not part of a pride will find other adult male lions to form a coalition group (relatives and non-relatives) because lions are social animals and prefer living in family units over living a solitary life.
What Is a Male Lion Called in a Pride?
The main male lion in a pride is just called the pride male. If there is more than one adult male lion in the pride, then they are just called the pride males.
This is a term used to describe the male lion or lions that are the king of the pride since alpha male isn’t typically a term used to describe the head lion male in a pride.
What Is an Alpha Male Lion Called?
Alpha male responsibilities are shared between the male lions found within a pride. However, these male lions are not called alpha males since they share this responsibility.
Instead, these male lions that are a part of a pride are called pride males. There is no other distinguishing name between lion males found within or outside of a pride.
If only one male lion exists in the pride, then the lion male is called the pride male and is the king of the pride.
The term “alpha male” isn’t generally used when describing male lions in relation to their pride but some people refer to the main lion in a pride as “king of the pride”, but that isn’t an official term.
Recap
You learned in this article that a male lion is just simply called a “lion”. There is no cool or distinct term used to describe adult male lions other than just calling them lions.
A young or baby male lion is called a cub until between the ages of 1 and 3 where they will then be classified as a sub-adult or lion if they are fully mature.
A group of male lions (with no females) are more commonly known as a coalition but are also called bachelors and rouges.
A lone male lion doesn’t have any distinction from any other adult male lion and is also just called a lion. Some unofficial terms used to describe a lone male lion include loner, bachelor, lone male, and solitary male.
But solitary, adult male lions are uncommon because lions are social animals and prefer to be in family units over living a solitary life.
An adult male lion in a pride is known as a pride male. If there is more than one adult male lion in the pride, then the term “pride males” is used.
The term “alpha male” isn’t generally used when describing the top male lion of a pride. Terms used for this distinction include pride male and king of the pride, but alpha male isn’t commonly used.
Thanks for taking the time to read this article. Now, you should know much of the terminology used to describe male lions depending on what group they are a part of or whether they are loners.
