Research overview: lion functional response to migratory wildebeest

An overview of how resident lions respond to the dramatic seasonal pulses of migratory wildebeest and zebra that pass through their territories. Because lions are territorial and cannot follow the migration, their kill rate rises sharply when migratory prey is present and falls when herds depart, producing a strong functional response, while their numerical response is constrained by year-round resident prey. This survey synthesizes Serengeti and other studies on how migration shapes lion feeding, condition and reproduction, the concept of predators being swamped by superabundant prey, and how reliance on resident versus migratory prey structures lion populations. It connects functional-response theory to one of the world's great migrations and illustrates how prey mobility decouples predator abundance from prey abundance.