Like why aren’t lions total roid monsters if only the strongest male gets to breed the females?
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Evolution is the process of surviving in an environment. Survival is based on the ability to do all the things an animal needs to do, like eat, sleep, run from predators or attack prey, and reproduce. Being “strong” is only possible when most of these conditions are met. An animal has to be alive to be strong, has to be eating and sleeping well to be strong, and has to have the genes for it also. But physical strength is not a common selection factor in mating systems.
That being said, the animals that have reproductive strategies that select for strength are freaks of nature. Elephant seals have a system where the largest, strongest males fight for dominance and claim all the females in that area for mating. The dominant bull elephant seal is always an absolute beast. Polar bears and other northern bears also tend to determine mating ranges based on strength, so they are giant murder machines as well. But even relatively small creatures, like the beetles in the rainforest that fight and throw each other off logs to win mates, are amazingly strong for their size.
The trouble they have is that their strength comes with high demands, and when the environment diminishes in quality, it makes it very difficult for any individual to reach it’s maximum strength. What we see selected for then is smaller individuals of the species in general. Being very strong usually is selected for when there is a high concentration of resources, such as cow elephant seals on the breeding beach, or few rich territories of food like for the polar bears. Otherwise, that strength is just a burden to maintain most of the year with no rewards in breeding frequency. At some point of a declining environment, say one with less food, the females just start breeding with survivors, not selectively breeding with the strong.
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