King of the Jungle? Nah... lionesses hunt more, are faster, more agile and live longer than lions.

Whenever I see debates about men vs women - particularly in relation to leadership roles - appeals to nature or references to biological determinism will often be used to justify male superiority.

As I'm sure most people are aware, the term "Alpha" was erroneously termed by a researcher studying captive wolves. In nature, wolves live in family groups - the "alphas" are simply mum and dad caring for their kids. So we know the alpha thing is absolute bullshit.

But another recent example I came across was the absolute primacy of lionesses. These girlies get shit done. The "King of the Jungle" thing is utter nonsense - lionesses are superior in every meaningful way:

• Lionesses do the vast majority of the hunting, accounting for about 80% - 90% of all food capture.
• Lionesses are considered better and more efficient hunters than male lions because they are smaller, faster, and excel at coordinated teamwork.
• Without a massive, dark mane, a lioness's sleek coat provides perfect evolutionary camouflage. Males are highly visible, which frequently alerts prey and ruins ambush opportunities.
• Due to a lower body weight and superior center of gravity, lionesses can easily hoist themselves high into tree branches to escape heat or scout terrain. Large male lions struggle heavily with climbing and risk severe injury doing so.
• Female lion prides are vastly more stable and long-term successful than male coalitions, which are high-risk, short-lived alliances.
• Lionesses determine the membership of a pride - THEY decide which males are allowed to join, and will readily boot out lions if they fail to do their job effectively.
• Female cubs have significantly better long-term odds - most females that clear their first year go on to reach adulthood.
• Lionesses generally live longer than male lions, averaging 15 to 18 years in the wild compared to 10 to 12 years for males.

Lioness prides thrive due to love, care and cooperation. Whereas male coalitions rarely last long due to aggression, conflict and competition. So when men use biological determinism or an appeal to nature to justify male superiority, please feel free to talk about lionesses.