Like why aren’t lions total roid monsters if only the strongest male gets to breed the females?
In: 6
You’ve started with a leading premise.
It’s not the “strongest” male, it’s the fittest.
Strength is one of many factors that are called “honest signals”, but all signals are essentially traits that are used to imply a creature is fit.
A well fed, physically strong male likely has better genes than a sick or dying one. A peacock with more robust feathers has more calories to spare than a sparse one. A loud insect must be better at hiding than a quiet one.
But a peacock that puts too much energy into feathers and gets caught and eaten before it mates is also unsuccessful, which puts a soft cap on the process of natural selection.
To go back to your example: a “roided up” super lion is unlikely to be able to sustain itself through a lean year with poor hunting or low food and, again, may die before it mates.
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