If a male lion takes over a pride, the fate of the females and their cubs is significantly affected:

• When new males (often a coalition) take over a pride, they commonly kill the existing cubs. This infanticide brings the lionesses back into estrus (heat) sooner, allowing the new males to sire their own offspring with the females

• Female lions fiercely protect their cubs and may attempt to resist, but typically the incoming males succeed in killing the cubs that are not theirs

• Female lions remain in the pride for life, as they are the stable core of the group, usually related by blood (mothers, daughters, sisters). They cooperate in hunting and raising cubs, and their social bonds are crucial to the pride’s survival

• After takeover, females may mate with the new males to ensure the survival of future cubs fathered by the new dominant males. Sometimes lionesses and their sisters may "fake" estrus behavior to manipulate males, but generally, mating resumes once the cubs are gone

• Male lions usually stay in a pride only for a few years before being ousted by younger males. Females, however, stay and maintain the pride’s territory and social structure

In summary, when a pride is taken over by new males, the existing cubs are often killed, and the females come into heat to mate with the new males. The females remain in the pride, continuing their role in hunting and raising the next generation of cubs fathered by the new dominant males