<P> Asiatic lions live in prides . Mean pride size, measured by the number of adult females, tends to be smaller than for those in Africa lions, apart perhaps from those in Western and Central Africa . Most Gir prides contain just two adult females, with the largest having five . Coalitions of males defend home ranges containing one or more groups of females; but, unlike African lions, Gir males generally associate with their pride females only when mating or on a large kill . A lesser degree of sociability in the Gir lions may be a function of the smaller prey available to them: the most commonly taken species (45% of known kills), the chital, weighs only around 50 kg (110 lb). </P> <P> In general, lions prefer large prey species within a weight range of 190 to 550 kg (420 to 1,210 lb) irrespective of their availability . Yet they predominately take prey substantially smaller than this, reflecting their opportunistic hunting behaviour . Within this range, they prefer species that weigh 350 kg (770 lb), which is much larger than the largest recorded weight of lion . The group hunting strategy of lions enables exceptionally large prey items to be taken . Hunting success in lions is influenced by hunting - group size and composition, the hunting method used and by environmental factors such as grass and shrub cover, time of day, moon presence and terrain . Domestic cattle have historically been a major component of the Gir lions' diet . </P> <P> In 1974, the Forest Department estimated the wild ungulate population at 9,650 individuals . In the following decades, the wild ungulate population has grown consistently to 31,490 in 1990 and 64,850 in 2010, including 52,490 spotted deer, 4,440 wild boar, 4,000 sambar, 2,890 blue bull, 740 chinkara, and 290 four - horned antelope . In contrast, populations of domestic buffalo and cattle declined following resettlement, largely due to direct removal of resident livestock from the Gir Conservation Area . The population of 24,250 domestic livestock in the 1970s declined to 12,500 in the mid-1980s, but increased to 23,440 animals in 2010 . Following changes in both predator and prey communities, Asiatic lions shifted their predation patterns . Today, very few livestock kills occur within the sanctuary, and instead most occur in peripheral villages . In and around the Gir forest, depredation records indicate that lions killed on average 2,023 livestock annually between 2005 and 2009, and an additional 696 individuals in satellite areas . </P> <P> The Gir forest and surrounding landscapes are home for the Indian leopard and the striped hyena . The presence of jungle cat, Asiatic wildcat and rusty - spotted cat has also been reported . The golden jackal scavenges on carcasses of large herbivores, and preys on chital fawn and Indian hares . </P>

Which of the following animals is not found in india