Field Museum uncovers evidence behind man-eating; revises legend of its infamous man-ea...( rkably other human behaviors also impa...)

rkably, other human behaviors also impacted the dietary choices available to Tsavo lions. The longstanding quest for ivory had eliminated elephants from much of eastern Kenya, including the Tsavo region. This caused a proliferation of dense thorny undergrowth, thereby decreasing the populations of large, social, grazing species such as zebra and gazelle. These thickets further provided ambushing lions with improved conditions to attack humans and to elude pursuit, something that infuriated Patterson. "Since lions are opportunistic hunters and regularly scavenge, all of these factors likely contributed to the outbreak of man-eating in Tsavo," Gnoske says. "Given the circumstances there in the 1890s, instead of asking how so many humans could have been dispatched, we wonder why there weren't more."

The two authors state "the same human-carnivore conflict drama, first depicted in France 20,000 years ago by Paleolithic artists, is currently at play in Africa. Competition for the same limited but fast diminishing resources, in tandem with human population explosions, is evident with newly emerging incidents between man and lion. By reacting predictably to changing circumstances, mostly beyond their control, lions are being systematically squeezed out of their final strongholds."

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Contact: Greg Borzo
gborzo@fieldmuseum.org
312-665-7106
Field Museum
14-Jan-2003

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