In territorial species, individuals need to regularly patrol their territory to display visual, auditory
or olfactory signals, or to detect the presence of intruders. Although territorial movements are
often conceptualized as animals travelling along the boundaries of their territories (‘border
patrolling’ behaviour), the distribution of territorial cues could also match the distribution of
resources when resources are spatially heterogeneous in their availability and found in stable
patches, leading to the emergence of “multiple central-place territories”. Here, we explored how
territoriality may shape the spatial behaviour of African lions (Panthera leo) in a savanna where
waterholes are associated with aggregations of large herbivores throughout the year and are
therefore well-known prey hotspots and key hunting sites for large carnivores. We hypothesized
that male lions would be more likely to patrol a buffer area around the territory core to defend a
core area where social interactions with groupmates occur, whereas female lions would more
specifically patrol hunting sites, i.e. waterhole areas. However, we found that both female and
male lions repeatedly moved along straight paths between the waterholes located both in the core
and in the periphery of their territories, potentially to defend multiple central-place territories driven by the distribution of waterholes in the landscape. These findings illustrate a case where
territorial animals specifically mark feeding sites, increasing the renewal of territorial cues at
these key places, potentially using long-distance territorial cues (i.e., vocalizations) to mark
uncovered areas, and thereby reducing the cost of patrolling large territories. Overall, multiple
central-place territories provide new insights on how the spatial distribution of resources shapes
space use in territorial animals.
