Field Museum uncovers evidence behind man-eating; revises legend of its infamous man-eating lions

Journal article examines hundreds of years of man-eating

Tsavo male lion of a similar size, age and dental condition as the infamous Tsavo man-eaters eating the trunk of a sub-adult elephant he helped to kill. Such lions are capable of capturing and killing "normal" prey despite their damaged teeth. Photo by H. Schuetz, Courtesy of The Field Museum Full size image available through contact

CHICAGO--Trying to separate science from mythology, two Field Museum researchers have put to rest several longstanding myths concerning the museum's infamous Tsavo lions. They propose alternative scenarios based on comprehensive reviews of historical literature, game department records, unpublished journals, and museum specimens.

First, the Tsavo lions were not 'aberrant'. Lions and other big cats have repeatedly turned to man-eating in the face of certain conditions, many of which are manmade. Furthermore, man-eating by lions continues today.

"For most of their history, extinct and living humans, have represented little more than a vulnerable, slow moving, bipedal source of protein for big cats," says Julian Kerbis Peterhans, associate professor of Natural Science at Roosevelt University, Field Museum adjunct curator and co-author of a study on man-eating by lions recently published in the Journal of East African Natural History (http://www.naturekenya.org/JournalEANH.htm).