The Maneaters of Tsavo - Tsavo Lions
The Tsavo maneaters were a pair of notorious man-eating lions responsible for the deaths of a number of construction workers on the Kenya-Uganda Railway, in the period of March through December 1898.
Possible causes for "man-eating" behavior
Theories for the 'man-eating habits' of lions have been reviewed by Kerbis Peterhans and Gnoske (2001) and Patterson (2004). Their discussions included the following:
* An outbreak of disease in 1898 decimated the lions' usual prey, forcing them to search for alternative food sources.
* The Tsavo lions may have been accustomed to finding dead humans at the Tsavo River crossing. Slave caravans bound for Zanzibar routinely crossed the river there.
* cremation of Hindu railroad workers, invited scavenging by the lions.
An alternative argument indicates that the first lion had a severely ascessed tooth that would have compromised his ability to kill natural prey. Evidence for this is presented in a series of papers by Neiburger and Patterson. Subsequent chemical isotope analysis confirms that this lion, not his uncompromised partner, was responsible for most of the humans consumed in Tsavo (Yeakel et al in review).
The story of the "Man-eaters of Tsavo" has been retold through script, cinema, and oral tradition in the 100+ years since their 'reign of terror'. Despite their predictably broad popular appeal, the details pertaining to the natural traits of these lions have never been reviewed. The skulls and skins of these lions have resided at the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago) for over 75 years. An analysis of the skull of the primary culprit displays a traumatic injury that may have limited his predatory ability in subduing ‘usual’ prey. Various additional circumstances likely contributed to their man-eating habit. The Tsavo incident closely followed the debut of rinderpest on the continent, which devastated cattle and buffalo, the primary prey of the Tsavo lion population. The Tsavo ‘nyika’ consists of a dense thorn scrub thicket limiting visibility and passage, representing an ideal habitat for an “ambush predator”. Finally, historical review of the literature reveals that 'man-eating' by lions was not an isolated incident at Tsavo. This behaviour was well established in the vicinity of the railway bridge well before these particular infamous lions appeared, and continued well after their demise, suggesting a recurring opportunity, which may have evolved into a local behavioural tradition frfor eating men. In sum, virtually all of the recognised preconditions for man-eating outbreaks to occur were in effect at Tsavo in the 1890's.
LionSafari.co.uk >>Kenya >> Wildlife Parks and Sanctuaries >> Mombasa Coastal Area >> Tsavo >> The Man Eating Lions of Tsavo West National Park