Dispute over Prey

A lion kill is rarely gory because lions suffocate their prey. The lion first knocks down its prey (usually a hoofed animal). To avoid flailing hooves, the lion then positions itself along the prey's back. Hooves are most dangerous for the lion as a broken jaw means a predictable death by slow starvation, followed by being pulled apart by hyenas.

The lion suffocates its prey, here a wildebeest, by grasping the entire muzzle in its mouth. Stretching the neck with its forelegs, the lion then turns the head back and up, and a horrific struggle ensues. The lion must hold its grasp for many minutes, which takes all its strength. After the kill, the lion is usually too exhausted to eat.

Sometimes the lion who does the killing misses out on the choice parts as a nearby hungry pride is not too exhausted to eat.
The scene I've recreated here is very common: the lioness (who is most often the hunter) makes the kill, and the male moves in to commence the feast. A lioness is used to putting a male in his place in disputes over protecting cubs or a fresh kill. It's mostly bluff and bluster, but in the case of feeding, she usually lets him get his way.