Like why aren’t lions total roid monsters if only the strongest male gets to breed the females?
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Sometimes, we see two things happening together and assume that one caused the other. Sometimes we’re right. So we might see dominant animals as being the most fit and therefore becoming dominant, but the inverse might be the case. By sheer happenstance, a younger male may find itself in a position where it unseats a more aggressive, but older animal to become the dominant male. He now gets a better share of food, and can sculpt his pride by killing off younger males before they can challenge him effectively.
So while it appears that dominant males are superior because of their genetics, selective pressures might not actually be operating on those genetics, because luck and timing aren’t in your genes. Over time, yes, the ‘fitter’ male’s genetic lineage might survive, but being stronger is not always the best strategy for every species in every environment. It’s likely a complex factor of multiple traits that allow male lions to survive on the periphery of a pride without challenging the dominant male too early, or too late. Social intelligence probably has a lot more impact for lions than the sheer strength of the males, especially seeing as it’s the female lions that do the brunt of hunting to ensure the survival of the group.
Moreover, male sex chromosomes in mammals have a much smaller genetic footprint than female chromosomes. In species where a dominant male mates with many females, almost all of the genetic variation passes along the female line. This is what really drives natural selection: Genetic pressure on variation.
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