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If you've been to the Field Museum in the last 80 years or so, you've surely gazed on the snarling, terror-inducing visage of the Man-eating Lions of Tsavo. Reportedly responsible for 135 human deaths in Kenya while a railroad was being constructed in 1898; British engineer, hunter and probable all-around lady-slayer John Patterson killed the cats and sold the pelts to the Field for $5k. And now, a new study says that these wildcats were really a couple of pussy cats. (Comparatively.)
As reported in the Sun-Times, an article written by Justin Yeakel and published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that it was really probably closer to 35 people that were taken down by the infamous Lions.
Field Museum researcher Bruce Patterson, no relation to John H. Patterson, said the researchers were able to track the presence of a Carbon isotope from the stuffed lions to determine what kind of mammal they were eating..."Just like salmon that eat mercury-tainted fish accumulate the metal in their bodies over time, so the chemical makeup of every animal's diet is reflected in the tissues of their bodies."Nathaniel Dominy, an associate anthropology professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz [and] co-author of the paper...said researchers are "95 percent confident that the lions ate as few as 4 or as many as 75 people total, with the highest probability falling out around 35 people."
Sigh. Nothing is sacred. Next think you know they'll be telling us that Sue was actually more fond of twigs & berries than brontosaur meat. That Bushman the Gorilla was actually more of a Bush-lad. That the Grainger Hall of Gems is populated by nothing but paste. At least we'll always have "The Ghost and the Darkness." Not up for argument? That our little kitten Badger is anything less than pure maneating terror.
No word on whether or not doom-metal band Lions of Tsavo will be changing their name in the wake of the study.
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I shall point out a typo solely because it might confuse some people who don't know any better. It was 1889, not 1989.
Curses. Would you believe I typed that twice and still transposed the numbers?
Wiki & the S-T say 1898 so that's what we'll run with. I've adjusted the post.
I think 35 people still qualifies as "man-eating". Still scary to me!
I worked in Africa and actually visited the den to f these lions in Tsavo National Park. I also worked in Tanzania. In the past year alone, well over 35 people have been killed in Tanzania by lions. I worked in an area where man-eaters were a problem. I carried a rifle with me nearly all the time. When you see a lion up close like I have, you realize very quickly that we are NOT the top of the food chain. Very scary and humbling.
Tell that to the lion burger I had for lunch.
Tell that to Detroit.
isn't there a major flaw in argument here? In most cases for those lions, thy did not have to opportunity to actually eat the entire human, just kill them...
So if they only had a few bites of each kill, and that portion adds up to 35 people, then they must have killed about 10 times more!
food for thought? (heh)
Patterson's book describes how the lions often grabbed sleeping people (railroad workers) out of their tents and dragged them into the bush to consume them. In the dark of night, after the screams ended, workers would often hear the crunching of bone, as the lions usually dragged their victims just a few yards away. In the dark wilderness, you could not see them. They often found few remains the next day, little more than a bloody smear. So, the lions consumed most of the victims. In their den, there were thousands of bones, some human, of kills that the lions dragged away.
People were smaller back then. If they're using modern humans as comparison, its worth noting that the average African is also thinner and leaner than a modern day western European. So, 135 19th century African workers may be equivalent to 35 or so modern humans. If they're using present day Chicagoans, all bets are off. If only these beasts had access to our corn-fed porkers waddling through the bush ...
Whats PETA's position on this one?