Most social big cat

Whereas other big cats are mostly solitary species, the lion Panthera leo is famously social, existing in groups of individuals known as prides. A pride generally consists of a number of lions, their lioness mates, and their cubs. Most prides consist of 5–6 lionesses, their cubs, and one or two lions, but prides containing as many as 30 individuals have been recorded. Sometimes, for a variety of different reasons, a lion or lioness may leave or be ejected from a pride (this is common among lions when they reach maturity but less so for lionesses), and until, if ever, they rejoin a pride these lone animals are known as nomads.

It is strange that even though tigers and leopards are primarily solitary species, collective nouns for groups of such animals – which never occur in the wild – have been coined. Thus, a group of tigers is known as an "ambush", and a group of leopards is known as a "leap". Yet even in captivity, these cat species do not readily live in groups, preferring to remain as couples.