14 DAY TRIAL // Park rangers in Savarkundla, Gujarat, India, have recently noticed that one of the lionesses they are supposed to keep a close eye on is peculiarly sexually active, meaning that it comes in heat significantly more often than its fellow female big cats do.
To cut a long story short, this lioness mates once in a fortnight on average, and sometimes even goes looking for male companionship a couple of days later after it made its latest conquest.
By comparison, the other females belonging to this species wait about 12 to 18 months before mating again.
Therefore, it need not come as a big surprise that both parks rangers and locals in Savarkundla are a tad taken aback by the behavior displayed by this particular lioness.
Times of India quotes a wildlife activist who, after observing the behavior of this female, explained how, “Few months ago we first spotted the lioness mating with a lion and after few days she was again seen mating with another lion.”
Furthermore, “We continued to monitor her and we were surprised that she comes into the heat regularly. This is extremely unusual.”
One forest official went as far as to state that, “This lioness is a nymphomaniac.”
However, specialists argue that there is a very reasonable explanation for why this lioness mates as often as it does.
Thus, it is quite likely that, due to some underlying health conditions, this big cat is unable to conceive.
Apparently, “In such cases, the lioness comes into heat every 14 days. There may be fertility issue, but it is a rare a case,” wildlife expert Dr. Y. V. Zhala believes.
The good news is that, whatever the underlying medical condition for this behavior might be, the lion population in this part of India is quite safe, as the chances that the problem is contagious are slim to none.
According to the same source, a similar case was reported back in 2003, when another Indian lioness in Gujarat began displaying the same peculiar sexual behavior.