Scientists have uncovered new insights into the diet of the infamous man-eating lions of Tsavo after analyzing hair samples found in the teeth of these predators.
In 1898, a pair of male lions (Panthera leo) killed and devoured dozens of workers who were constructing a railway bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya, claiming at least 35 lives. They lurked and terrorized the workers for nine months prior. The remains of these lions have been preserved at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, USA.
Man-eating lions in Africa.
In a recent study, scientists extracted DNA from the hair samples found in the lions’ teeth. Their findings identified six prey species that the lions in Kenya had consumed.
The teeth of the lions were damaged throughout their lives. Co-author of the study, Thomas Gnoske, found thousands of hair strands lodged in the gaps of broken teeth. (Photo: Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago).
“We found mitochondrial genetic material from giraffe, human, kudu, waterbuck, wildebeest, and zebra as prey, and also identified hair from the lions themselves,” said co-author Alida de Flamingh, a biologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA. The researchers published these new findings in the journal Current Biology.
Tsavo lions were spotted across the workers’ camp spanning 13 kilometers in Tsavo National Park, east of Mount Kilimanjaro. The territory of a lion can range from 50 to 1,000 square kilometers, depending on the availability of prey and water. When prey is scarce, lions may venture further afield to find other resources.
In this study, researchers noted that two lions had left their territory for several months and likely moved to an area with more prey, particularly wildebeests.
The researchers also highlighted the unexpected absence of buffalo DNA, as African buffalo are one of the primary prey species for lions in the Tsavo region.
De Flamingh stated: “The arrival of rinderpest into Africa in the 1890s killed about 90% of livestock and had a similar impact on buffalo populations.”
Meanwhile, scientists remain uncertain about why the Tsavo lions preyed on humans. Isotope analysis of the hair and bones of the Tsavo lions indicates they consumed around 35 people, equivalent to about 35% of a lion’s diet.
