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Joined 2026-09-21 Message
Incoming links: K. McComb
K. McComb 2026-11-05
K. McComb is the first author of a 1994 playback experiment testing numerical assessment by female lions. Recordings of either one unfamiliar female roaring or three roaring together simulated intruders within the territories of lion prides.[ref]
Roaring and numerical assessment in contests between groups of female lions, Panthera leo by K. McComb and others. Abstract: controlled playbacks and study groups
The approaches depended on the simulated intruder group and the defending group's composition. Playing recorded sounds allowed the apparent social threat to be manipulated without staging a physical fight between groups.[ref]
Roaring and numerical assessment in contests between groups of female lions, Panthera leo by K. McComb and others. Abstract: simulated intruders and approach decisions
The experiment asks how animal communication supports a decision under uncertainty. A recorded chorus carries information about an apparent group, but an approach decision also depends on the listeners' own group. Demonstrating a behavioural response to one-versus-three playbacks does not, by itself, specify the internal counting procedure used by a lion.