The lions of Tsavo are not only man-eaters, but also cannibals. Everything was hidden in the teeth

At least 70 human victims are attributed to the lions described here, mainly railway workers working on the construction of a bridge over the Tsavo River. The infamous animals were shot in 1989 and their skins and skulls were taken to the Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Man-eaters from Tsavo

The latest research by a team of scientists led by Ripan Malhi showed that the victims of the pair of males, in addition to humans, were a whole range of mammals. The Tsavo lions also killed giraffes, ocrixes, black kobs, wildebeests, and even members of their own species. They sometimes ate small lion cubs, as long as they were not their offspring.

A group of researchers learned all this thanks to the analysis of DNA traces from the remains that were extracted from lions’ teeth. We are talking about the remains of fur or hair that are embedded in the jaws of predators. The scientists’ plan was to study the diet of individuals from over a century ago and compare it with that of modern lions, which would also allow us to determine how the entire ecosystem has changed.

Why did Tsavo lions hunt humans?

The remains of the wildebeest caused the greatest surprise. At the time, the species must have been much more widespread in the Tsavo region than previously thought, or else lion hunting was much more widespread. Currently, the nearest wildebeest population is located more than 80 kilometers from the known territory of the Tsavo man-eating lions.

Illinois researchers also examined how lion hunting goals changed over time. This was determined by the layering of hair between the teeth and in the cavities. It turned out that predators killed people especially at the end of their lives – when, due to their age, they were no longer as fit and had dental problems. People were a much easier target for them than fast animals.