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The Science of Man-eating
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The science of ‘Man-eating’*
among lions (Panthera leo) with a reconstruction of the natural history of the “Man-eaters of
Tsavo” Julian C. Kerbis Peterhans1 and Thomas Patrick Gnoske2
1 Associate
Professor, University College , Roosevelt University , Chicago IL ; Adjunct
Curator, Division of Mammals, Field Museum of
Natural History 2
Assistant Collection Manager and Chief Preparator, Division of Birds, Field Museum of
Natural History ABSTRACT The story of the "Man-eaters of
Tsavo" has been retold through script, cinema, and oral tradition in the
100+ years since their infamous 'reign of terror'. Despite their predictably
broad popular appeal, the details pertaining to the natural history 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 ‘normal’ prey. A sample of hairs,
reflecting the diet of both man-eaters, is preserved in the broken and exposed
cavities of their canines. 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. 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' was not an isolated incident at Tsavo. This behaviour was well
established in the vicinity of the railway bridge well before these infamous
lions appeared, and continued well after their demise, suggesting a recurring
opportunity, which may have evolved into a local behavioural tradition. In sum,
virtually all of the recognised preconditions for man-eating outbreaks to occur
were in effect at Tsavo in the 1890's. * We use
the term 'man-eating' by convention, as attacks are not limited to 'men' and do
not always conclude with consumption. Introduction The "Man-eaters of
Tsavo" first gained infamy in the British press in 1900 (The Spectator,
March 3) when they were reported to have caused a temporary halt to the
construction of the ‘ Uganda ’ Railway. This railway was to run from the Indian
Ocean port of Mombasa, Kenya, to the shores of Lake Victoria, which was then
located in Uganda. British
engineer J.H. Patterson documented his attempts to dispatch the two adult male
lions with detailed journal entries (J.H. Patterson, 1898-1899). These entries
became the basis for his first-hand account, first published In the Field (London) at the turn of the
century, and later as the basis for his book, The Man-eaters of Tsavo and
other East African
Adventures
(Patterson, 1907). Every Kenyan schoolboy knows the story of the Tsavo lions,
first through oral tradition and later through this popular reference. Two
Hollywood films have further popularized the story: Bwana Devil (1953) and The Ghost and the Darkness (1997). Despite the popular appeal of this incident,
no details concerning the lions themselves, or the circumstances surrounding
this notorious man-eating outbreak, were published * between Patterson's 1907
account and the brief review by Kerbis Peterhans, et al. (1998). After
reviewing historical accounts, recent literature, the original journals of J.H.
Patterson, Game Department records, and the skulls and skins of the
‘Man-eaters’ themselves, we have identified these circumstances. This paper
addresses some of the conditions that lead to man-eating in general and how
these relate to the incidents at Tsavo over 100 years ago. Several circumstances have often been
associated with Pantherid (big cat) attacks on humans. Sickly, injured, or emaciated pantherids, which
are unable to secure their normal prey, can often become man-eaters (Corbett,
1944, 1948, 1954). Predators may also focus on abnormally behaving prey,
with certain human behaviors probably qualifying. Among social carnivores (e.g.
lions), the favouring of particular prey species (e.g. livestock or humans) can
be passed from one generation of predators to the next, with the potential to
become a local social tradition (Swayne, 1895; Taylor, 1959; Rushby, 1965). Historical
records from Tsavo suggest that predation upon humans was a long-standing
phenomenon. Humans were attacked and killed * A
probable exception is Preston ’s undated
publication, The Genesis of Kenya Colony. by lions in the Tsavo area well before construction
of the railway began (1886, documented in Jackson , 1894) and continue at
present, over 100 years after the infamous pair was dispatched (Kenya Wildlife
Service, 1994-1998). Another factor, anecdotally mentioned in the literature,
is the absence, depletion, or removal of typical prey, causing the predators to
seek alternative food sources such as livestock. This brings lions into contact
with humans, sometimes resulting in the inclusion of humans in lions’ diets.
Lions also develop a taste for humans after being 'provisioned' with dead ones.
Environmental variables can be important since heavy cover is essential for
“ambush predators” to successfully stalk their prey (Schaller, 1972; Funston,
et al. 2001). Seasonal factors are also thought to be important as game
disperses during the rains, making them more difficult to locate and secure (
Jackson , 1894). In late 19th century Tsavo, all of these factors
were in play concurrently and all may have played a role in the development of
the world's most renowned man-eating outbreak. What follows therefore, is a
critical review of these different scenarios and the likely role each of them
may have played in the events at Tsavo over 100 years ago. Notes on the Natural History of the
'Man-eaters of Tsavo' Unlike the Tsavo of today with large tracts
of open expanse, the Tsavo of the 1890's was composed of a nearly impenetrable,
thorn thicket known as nyika. The quest for ivory during the 19th
century had eliminated elephants (Loxodonta africana) from much of eastern Kenya , including most of
Tsavo (Thorbahn, 1979). This
is why many of the porters transporting ivory through Tsavo at the time,
originated far up-country, sometimes even from Uganda (Patterson, 1907). Elephants
are a keystone species and have a major impact on the vegetation and the large
mammal community. The elimination of elephants from Tsavo caused a
proliferation of dense woody and thorny undergrowth and eliminated herds of
grazing ungulates from the vicinity. Browsers, including dik-dik (Madoqua sp.) and black rhino (Diceros bicornis) increased. A review of Patterson's field journals
(1898-1899) quantifies the animal species he encountered (TABLE 1).
There were no wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus). Hartebeest (hartebeest/hirola, Alcelaphus buselaphus/hunteri) and zebra (Equus burchelli/grevyi) were around but not common. Patterson never once
refers to buffalo (Syncerus caffer)
or cattle (Bos taurus ssp.) in
his journal. This can be traced to the arrival of rinderpest on the continent
in 1891, which had a devastating impact on the bovine populations (Lugard,
1893; Mettam, 1937). By
the 1960’s, the Tsavo elephant population had recovered and Tsavo became known
as one of the largest elephant sanctuaries in East Africa (Leuthold
and Leuthold, 1976). Therefore, the two large mammal species (elephant
and buffalo) comprising most of the mammalian biomass in Tsavo today (Ibid.)
were virtually absent in the 1890’s. In sum, by 1898, Tsavo had already been
severely impacted by humans, resulting in vast anthropogenic differences
between the Tsavo environment of the 1890's and that of today. The 'Man-eaters of Tsavo' themselves consist
of two adult male lions that are virtually devoid of manes in the conventional
sense. They display a slight sagittal crest of hair that can be typical of some
maneless lions. The second lion killed (FMNH 23969, FIGURE 1) had slight cheek tufts as well as darkened chest
patches while the first lion was without these adornments. They were
photographed by Colonel J.H. Patterson (1907) after they were dispatched in
1898. Except for the severely broken canine and remodeled mandible and cranium
of the primary culprit (FMNH 23970; FIGURE 2), the man-eaters of Tsavo were adult male lions in
their prime TABLE 1 FAUNA
OF TSAVO AS REPRESENTED IN THE FIELD JOURNAL OF JH PATTERSON, 1898-1899 Number of Number
of Times Times Group Mentioned Mentioned Common name Invertebrates Mammals Tsetse fly 1 black
panther 1 Mosquito 1 baboon 1 2 rabbit 1 Reptiles rat 1 Crocodile 1 giraffe 1 Birds donkey 2 long-billed 1 monkey 2 water fowl 1 hippo 2 owl 1 waterbuck 2 spur fowl 2 bushbuck 3 sand grouse 3 leopard 3 ostrich 4 zebra 4 birds 5 wild
cat 4 partridge 6 hartebeest 4 guinea fowl 12 small
deer 5 rhino 14 paa (Madoqua) 16
6 ? - 8 ? years of age). Their
squamoso-parietal sutures are obliterated making them at least 6 1/2 years old
(Smuts, et al. 1978), but their maxillo-premaxillary sutures are not even
partially closed, making them under 9 years old. Their teeth also betray this
age range as they are yellowing and there is visible wear on the canine,
incisor, P3, and P4 (>5-6 years of age, Ibid.).
Although these individuals may have been siblings due to their association and
similar size and morphology, FMNH 23969 displays more apical wear than FMNH
23970. We doubt that their difference in age extends beyond one or two years. Both animals were huge individuals as
Patterson’s published photos (1907) demonstrate. Patterson uses the following
in describing the first lion: “enormous brute”, “powerful beast in every
way", (Patterson, 1898-1899). FMNH 23970 was 9’8” long (nose to tail) and
44” in height at the shoulder while FMNH 23969 was 9’6” long and 48” in height
at the shoulder (Ibid.). Shoulder heights for East African male lions average
37.8" in height and 8'9" in length according to Meinertzhagen (1938)
who collected in the Athi-Kapiti Plains and in the Serengeti. Guggisberg (1975)
provides an additional measurement: 3’ in height at the shoulder and 9’ long. Patterson claimed (1907) that the man-eaters
were prime-aged, healthy males and was so cited by subsequent authors (e.g.
Selous, 1908; Akeley, 1923; Bradley, 1926; Guggisberg, 1961;
Cloudsley-Thompson, 1967). We can only assume that this referred to the
condition of their limbs and torso and that he did not inspect their dentition.
Residing in the collections of Field Museum for 75 years, the two Tsavo lion
skulls had not been differentiated from one another in any way. One of us (TPG)
rediscovered these skulls in the collections of the Field Museum in the 1980's
and subsequently deduced which was the first man-eater shot by referring to
Patterson’s discussion of the deaths of each (Patterson, 1907). The first lion
(FMNH 23970) was killed by shots to the body, while the second lion was shot
with several bullets, including one to the head that shattered its zygomatic
arch (FMNH 23969). Although Patterson states that he may have shot off the tip of the canine of the
first man-eater slain (Patterson 1907, 1925), both lions are missing the apical
end of their lower left canines due to pre-existing traumas One of us (TPG) first noticed that the skull
and mandible of FMNH 23970 were malformed due to a severely broken canine with
exposed pulp vacuity. This observation was first noted in Kerbis Peterhans et
al. (1997) with further details provided by Neiburger and Patterson (2000).
This injury probably occurred fairly early in life as it led to obvious
remodeling of the jaws (FIGURES 3,4).
In particular, the root of the broken lower canine had been re-oriented towards
the horizontal plane, and the mandible and associated dentition were completely
asymmetric due to mal-occlusion. This injury (perhaps caused by a kick or a
blow from the head/horn of a buffalo or zebra) could have prevented the lion
from efficiently killing its normal prey. The second man-eater (FMNH 23969) had
slightly damaged teeth, specifically a broken upper left carnassial and broken
lower right canine (photo in Patterson, 1907). The break to the upper left
carnassial (P4) is fairly fresh (several months in age) as reflected
in its still sharp edges. The broken canine tip had been worn smooth from
months, perhaps years, of wear. Despite these breaks, we do not believe these
injuries were serious enough to affect this animal’s predatory behavior. Their tenure as man-eaters may have been
first discussed by Ansorge (1899) who discussed lion attacks on a caravan in
1896 at the very crossing point of the Tsavo River over which the railway
bridge was subsequently constructed. At this time, the Tsavo man-eaters would
have been approximately 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 years old, full-grown ‘sub-adults’. R.O.
Preston followed Ansorge at the river crossing but preceded Patterson. Preston
arrived in Tsavo in January of
1897 (Miller, 1971) and promptly recorded the deaths of two railhead workers
due to lions (Preston, n.d.). J. H. Patterson arrived in March of 1898, and in
late April 1898, attacks were again reported. By the time the ‘reign of terror’
was over, Patterson stated that the lions “had devoured between them no less
than twenty-eight Indian coolies” (1907, p.107). The figure of 28 was cited by
subsequent authors (Selous, 1908; Guggisberg, 1961; Miller, 1971). The first
man-eater was killed on December 9, 1898 and the second on December 29, 1898
(Patterson, 1898-1899). Despite a gap of 20 days between the deaths of
the two lions, there were no humans from the railway crew taken by the
remaining man-eater. This leads us to believe that the first individual slain
(FMNH 23970), with the long-term dental trauma, was the primary culprit. If we
add the two deaths recorded by Preston prior to Patterson’s arrival and the
death discussed by Ansorge, the documented total could increase to 31. Between March and
December of 1898, a minimum of 28 humans was taken by these notorious lions.
Over the years however, these figures have changed and the legend has grown. In
his journal entries (1898-1899) Patterson only discusses the deaths of 14
individuals. In his 1907 book, he mentions 28 deaths of the imported and
well-paid Indian laborers. We assume this figure is accurate since the British
maintained precise accounting details (many of which are summarized in Hill,
1976). His only reference to victimized African laborers is summarized as
“scores of unfortunate African natives of whom no official record was kept”
(1907, p.107). In 1925 however, Patterson published a follow-up account where
he states that 107 Africans were among the victims, thereby increasing the
total killed on his watch to “135 Indian and African artisans and laborers”
(p.1). Neiburger and
Patterson (2000) expand the description to “135 armed men”. Later, these lions
are described as: “evading exposure to modern hunters with high-power firearms”
and taking “135 well-armed railroad workers” from “well-fortified camps”
(Neiburger and Patterson, 2002). Caputo (2000) expands the carnage to 140
people. The fact is, that there is no published record indicating that any more
than 28 were officially recognized as being victims, although our review of the
historical literature can possibly add three more. If we are to assume
however, that the figure of 135 is accurate, and further assume that 135 people
would provide ca. 50 pounds of edible meat per individual, the lions would have
been left with 6750 pounds of meat over the 10-month period. Schaller (1972)
has estimated an adult male lion’s daily intake to be ca. 15.4 pounds of meat
per day, resulting in 5605 pounds per year, per lion, or 9,342 pounds for both
adult male Tsavo lions for the 10-month period. Although these figures are well
within an order of magnitude, there is no convincing evidence in Patterson’s
journals that this many people were killed by lions during his tenure in Tsavo.
Furthermore, it appears that ‘normal’ prey were also consumed over this time
period. Although depicted as dedicated man-eaters,
both lions came to bait and attacked livestock. The first lion slain approached
a dead donkey used as bait, while the second carried off 6 tethered goats over
a two-day period (17-18 December, 1898; Patterson 1898-1899). The severe injury
to FMNH 23970 did not prevent it from feeding on ‘normal’ prey afterwards.
Studies of their dietary preferences are currently being conducted through the
analysis of several thousand animal hairs, removed from the broken canines of
the man-eaters. Preliminary results provided by Ogeto Mwebi, indicate that
these hairs are mostly from the lions themselves, lodged in the canine
vacuities during bouts of grooming. Mwebi (personal communication) has
tentatively identified the following prey species: zebra, porcupine (Hystrix
cristata), warthog (Phacochoerus
aethiopicus), impala (Aepycerus
melampus), eland (Taurotragus
oryx), and oryx (Oryx gazella). To date, there is no evidence of human hair, which
suggests that immediately following the break to the canine of the first
man-eater, humans did not suddenly appear on the menu. If we find do evidence
of humans, we will be able to distinguish African from Indian victims. However,
since lions prefer human viscera and large fleshy parts, including the
buttocks, thighs and arms (see figures of human victims in Kingsley-Heath,
1965; Beard, 1988), hair bearing areas such as the cranium and perhaps the
pubis may not be consumed. This may explain the absence of human hair in our
samples. What is clear is that these lions were not obligatory man-eaters and
that they continued to pursue prey other than humans. I. Fossil Record and Modern History of
Man-eating For as long as they have
co-existed, primates, along with ungulates, have been the primary base of prey
for African Pantherids (Brain, 1981). For most of their history, extinct and
living Hominids have represented little more than a vulnerable, slow moving,
bipedal source of protein for the big cats. In the Plio/Pleistocene of South
Africa, Australopithecus robustus was
the single most common prey item for leopards (Panthera pardus) with a minimum of 88 individuals represented at the
site of Swartkrans (Brain, 1981). The newly discovered South African site of
Drimolen promises similar results (Keyser, et al. 2000). The earliest reputed
hominid fossil was also said to have been killed and dismembered by a carnivore
(Fox, 2000). While Homo
sp. seems to have been more effective in avoiding predation than Australopithecus,
based on fewer remains in fossil lair sites (Brain, 1981), early Homo,
nevertheless, remained on the menu. In fact, paleoanthropological material from
South Africa, which has provided most of the fossil evidence for the early
stages of human evolution, appears to have been primarily
accumulated by large predators, particularly Pantherids and Hyaenids (Brain,
1981; Kerbis Peterhans, 1990). European Paleolithic rock art depicts cave
lions embedded with arrows or spears (Figure 1 in Frobenius,1933; Begouen and
Breuil, 1958; Ruspoli, 1987). One of the earliest historical depictions of
man-eating that we have found is the nearly 5,000 year old "Battlefield
Pallette" depicting a lion eating, and/or killing, dead or wounded Libyans
during a clash with the Egyptians (Aldred, 1980). Bushmen rock artists
illustrate numerous scenes of lions dismembering humans as well as human
retaliation (Tongue, 1909). Stow (1905) writes that lion fed upon the flesh of
Bushmen even more than their sheep. With the advent of the colonial era in
Africa and Asia, documentation of man-eating became more regular. This
coincided with the exploration of continental interiors in the 19th century,
the debut of “big game trophy hunting”, and the construction of inland railways
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Sowerby, 1923; Hill, 1976). Man-eating is not
unusual, nor necessarily 'aberrant'. From the late 19th century up
until the present, man-eating incidents by Pantherids in Africa and Asia have
continued. During a 5-year period in the 1920's, 7,000 human deaths due to
tigers (Panthera tigris) were reported
in India (McDougal, 1987). The Sanga man-eaters killed over 161people in SW
Uganda in the mind to late 1920’s (Temple-Perkins, 1955). In the 1930's, lions
killed around 1500 people in a 150 square mile area of southern Tanzania
(Rushby, 1965). Between 1978 and 1984, tigers killed a minimum of 128 people in
Kheri, a small Indian District in Uttar Pradesh. Three hundred eighteen people
were killed by tigers in the mangrove swamp forests of the Sundarbans Tiger
Reserve between 1975 and 1981 (Sanyal, 1987). A minimum of 193 lion attacks
resulting in 28 human deaths, were recorded from areas adjacent to the Gir
Forest (India) between 1977 and 1991(Saberwal, et al. 1994). In sum, human and
Pantherid conflicts have existed throughout their coexistence with evidence for
sustained and localized outbreaks of attacks on humans. II. Access to
injured, sick or dead humans a. Slave and Trade Caravan Routes
Most carnivores,
especially lions and hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta), are facultative predators and scavengers, actively hunting or
scavenging depending on the circumstances (Schaller, 1972; Kruuk, 1972). The
slave trade in East Africa promoted the consumption of humans, as dead or dying
slaves were abandoned along caravan routes. A slave trader told A.J. Swann (cited in New,
1874) that any slave too weak to carry his load was abandoned or killed at once
in order to discourage others from refusing to carry their burdens. During
Livingstone’s travels along caravan routes in central Africa, he often
encountered human remains. He estimated that only one in five slaves reached
the coast alive (cited in Miller, 1971). With 20,000 slaves imported each year
to Zanzibar alone, there was probably a minimum of 80,000 humans lost annually
along the northern caravan routes. This huge number of abandoned,
sickly, dying, and dead, represented a regular bonanza to any carnivore
prepared to take advantage of them. The ‘Uganda railway’ was built along
a Swahili caravan route that had been used for decades. The caravan route maps
of Wakefield (1870) are quite similar to those of Johnston (1899) and the
railway line is shown to closely parallel the route used by ‘explorers and
caravans’ (Hill, 1976). At the Tsavo River, Patterson (1907) describes his tent
as being pitched close to the former caravan route to ‘Uganda’. He provides a
photograph of the crossing point of the caravan trail over the Tsavo River (FIGURE
5). Preston (n.d.)
discusses this same caravan trail, stretching along the right (south) bank of
the Sabaki River. Trade routes also generate extensive
“ debris fields” and condition the local carnivores to a highly predictable
food source. People and goods moving along the caravan route included human
slaves, porters, ivory, luggage, and foodstuffs. Coast-bound Wakamba traders
transported livestock including sheep (Ovis aries), goats (Capra hircus) and cattle. In the late 19th
century, Eurpoean expeditions joined the mix, travelling along the same routes
as those plied by Arab and African traders. First hand accounts of these
caravans include those by French-Sheldon (1892), Lugard (1893), Neumann (1898),
Ansorge (1899), Patterson (1907), and Preston (n.d.). Despite proclamations banning the international
trade in slaves (1873, 1876), and the similar edict in 1890, an illicit slave
trade continued through the Tsavo region during the late 19th century; slave
ownership was not banned until 1907 (Miller, 1971). One of the reasons the
British claimed to have constructed the railway was that its development would
help to put an end to the illicit slave trade, which still flourished in the
late 19th century: ‘After a railway has existed for some time
there cannot be....any other kind of locomotion to compete with it....If a
railway could exist from this lake to the coast, caravans could no more be
employed as they are employed now to carry ivory’ (Lord Salisbury, 1891 quoted
in Hill, 1976, p.54). It was reasoned that an efficient
and rapid alternative in the transport of goods would eliminate the
profitability of all caravans. However, even the end of the formalised slave
trade did not end the regular loss of human life along this route. Selous
(1908) depicts lions posted around campfires waiting for opportunities (FIGURE
6). Porters hired
to carry ivory and trade goods were abandoned in the bush after dying from
exposure (Portal, 1894) or suffering injuries or disease (French-Sheldon, 1892;
Lugard, 1893). French-Sheldon’s caravan came across an abandoned ‘ill wretch’
at Buru in 1891, ‘dying from hunger and neglect who was unable to proceed with
a caravan....and turned adrift, without adequate means, to reach the coast as
best he could or drop dead in the bush’ (p.203). At the end of a long days
march, porters often limped into their camps with broken bones and severe
injuries (French-Sheldon, 1892). Lugard (1893) describes liberating slaves in a
caravan he encountered along the Voi River (Tsavo) in 1890, and speaks of a
paralysed ‘porter’ being abandoned to hyenas at the Voi River. He concludes, ‘I
have never seen anything approaching the carelessness of human life and the
callousness to human suffering which seem to characterise some methods of
African travel’ (Vol II, p. 544). French-Sheldon (1892), Ansorge
(1899) and Patterson (1907), passed westward along the Tsavo caravan route and
criss-crossed with caravans moving east. In Patterson’s chapter, entitled ‘The
Stricken Caravan’ (1907), he describes a caravan of 4,000 porters (Basoga and
Baganda) moving from Uganda to Mombassa in 1898. On their return to Uganda, the
entourage again passed Patterson’s camp on the Athi-Kapiti Plains. An epidemic
of dysentery had swept through the contingent, perhaps linked to their drastic
change in diet along the way. After each day’s march, dozens were left along
the route; the group could not stop as food and water were always at a premium.
Thirteen dropped out in the vicinity of Patterson’s tent and despite his best
efforts, only seven were saved. Along the track, Patterson estimated finding a
swollen corpse every 100 yards. When passing one of their abandoned camps,
Patterson encountered about 12 fresh graves that had already been disinterred
by scavenging hyenas. b. Burial
practises, epidemics, warfare
Local burial practises can also encourage the
development of man-eating behaviour by providing easy access to human corpses.
The Masai simply abandon their dead, and sometimes the 'near dead', in the bush
to hyenas and lions (also Kikuyu, Percival, 1925; Saitoti, 1980; Read, 1984).
French-Sheldon (1892) describes coming across the corpse of a deceased Masai,
weighted in armlets and leglets. Selous (1908) describes an incident near
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe where an elderly woman was dragged alive and tied to a tree
for the hyaenas. In the same volume Selous depicts hyenas hovering around an
abandoned corpse (FIGURE 7). Melliss (1895) describes picking up an elderly woman that could not keep
up with her clan, and who was left to fend for herself along a Somali caravan
route. Gouldsbury (1916) writes of the Somali: "Women generally, and more especially when
old and decrepit, are of very little account among the Somali. If unable to
keep up with the Kafila <caravan> on the march, they are often abandoned
and left exhausted on the side of the road, either to follow as best they can
or to be devoured by a hungry lion, should one happen to pass that way"
(p.167). In the Taita Hills,
above the Tsavo caravan route, the Wataita dig up their dead and then place
skulls in rock shelters, while the people of Taveta disperse the bones of the
dead in the bush and place the skulls in sacred tree hollows, rock shelters, or
earthen pots (French-Sheldon, 1892; Adamson, 1967). The Wakamba peoples
inhabiting the Tsavo region were said to leave the bodies of ‘peasants and
women’ and even the mortally infirm in the bush ‘for the hyaenas to devour’
(Hobley, 1910; Lindblom, 1920). In India, Corbett documents several instances
of man-eating outbreaks by leopards and tigers. These include the Rudrapryag
Leopard, which killed 150 humans (1918-1926) following an influenza outbreak
that killed over one million people (Corbett, 1948), and the Panar Leopard
which killed 400 humans (1905-1907) following a severe cholera outbreak
(Corbett, 1954). Many Hindu families cannot afford the expensive funeral pyre
necessary for a proper cremation. Instead, the dead are abandoned with a
red-hot coal in their mouth. It is possible, but doubtful, that Hindu railway
workers dying in Tsavo were disposed of in this fashion. There was no shortage
of firewood; lions were kept at bay during the night with non-stop fires. In
any case, not all of the imports were Hindi, as Patterson himself (1907) speaks
of the rivalries between Muslim and Hindi laborers. Between 1898 and 1899, an outbreak of small pox
and famine in Kenya killed thousands of Kikuyu and Ukumbani. The dead and near
dead were abandoned in the bush to be devoured by carnivores (Percvial, 1925).
Once the diseases abated and the supplies of corpses ran out, the large numbers
of hyenas turned their attentions towards living humans. Hyenas started taking
children at dusk and grabbing adults as they slept (Percival, 1925). Miller
(1971) estimates that 25,000 Africans were felled by disease and starvation
during this time (1898-1900). Such inadvertent provisioning of carnivores has
often been correlated with attacks on humans. Even today, provisioning of
hyenas by tourist outfitters can lead to human fatalities (Singer, 2000). Patterson (1907) and Hill (1976) again provide
analogies for the situation in Tsavo in 1897-1898. A severe famine, caused in
part by a severe drought caused thousands of local Wakamba to die of starvation
during the time the railway was being built through Tsavo (Miller, 1971). In
their desperation, Wakamba would attack and slaughter isolated railway
maintenance gangs in order to steal their food (Patterson, 1907). Death among
the Wakamba due to a smallpox outbreak was also devastating at this time.
Despite massive relief efforts, there was not enough treatment (lymph) to go
around (Miller, 1971). The human toll among the Indian coolies imported to work
on the railroad was also substantial: 340 of 7,131 died between 1897 and March
of 1898. Death was mostly due to malaria, diarrhea, and dysentery; an
additional 705 were debilitated (Hill, 1976), with many being returned to
India. During civil unrest and
conflict, large Pantherids have been known to kill humans after having regular
access to human corpses. As discussed earlier, the 5,000-year-old ‘Battlefield
Palette’ depicts lions consuming humans following a battle in Egypt (Aldred,
1980). In the Arakan district of Burma, tigers had not previously claimed many
human victims but during World War II, they suddenly turned their attentions to
live and dead soldiers (McDougal, 1987, 1993). Caputo (personal communication)
describes at least three instances of tiger attacks on humans during his time
in Viet Nam (1966-1969), an observation confirmed by Jackson (1985). A similar scenario was been documented in Tsavo
during World War I (Lettow-Vorbeck, 1920). The Germans, colonial powers in
Tanganyika, and the British, who colonised Kenya, had military conflicts in the
vicinity of Tsavo National Park with lions also taking their share. General
Phillips, based in Voi for three months in 1915, lost three Indian soldiers to
lion in the vicinity of the Tsavo River (Trzenbinski, 1986). When the war
began, noted game ranger A. B. Percival was charged with defending the railway
against sabotage from the Germans. Sentries were posted and according to
Percival (1928): ‘Lions were a veritable curse; man after man on
sentry duty was taken, till it seemed sheer cruelty to put a man on such duty
at all. Sentries were doubled and still men were taken. It needs little
imagination to realise the case: two men at their post, bush all round and
close up-it was inviting attack by lions’ (p. 286). During WW I, the wounded and
deceased not recovered by nightfall, were assumed to be taken by this
carnivorous entourage (Percival, 1928).
III. Predation on Livestock: Human/Carnivore conflict a.
Historical sources The initial attraction of
large carnivores to humans can also center on a supply of livestock and pack
animals. Herodotus may have
been the first to discuss lions killing domestic stock (baggage camels,
Camelus dromedarius),
when they were described attacking Xerxes' caravans during his trip through
Paeonia (Rawlinson, 1992). In Africa, the first long-horned, Nile valley
cattle (Bos primigenius) were
domesticated by 4,000 BC (Rouse, 1972). The first long-horned, humped cattle (Bos
taurus indicus) arrived in Africa about
2,000 B.C., when they crossed from southern Arabia into the horn of Africa. The
presence of domestic stock, particularly cattle, contributed to future
associations of livestock, humans and lions. After coming into contact
and conflict with humans while killing domestic stock (Swayne, 1895; Neumann,
1898; Borradaile, 1928), predators educate themselves on the sights, sounds,
and activity patterns of humans; they may switch to herdsman and humans in
general (Layard, 1887;
Caldwell, 1925; Percival 1925, 1928; Pitman, 1931; Hunter, 1952; Guggisberg,
1975; McDougal, 1987).
Four of the eight man-eating tigers discussed by Corbett (1944, 1948, 1954)
were also notorious cattle killers, confrontations that led to direct conflict
with humans. For example, the Chuka man-eater (Corbett, 1954) attacked and
killed cattle. On one occasion, it was disturbed by, and subsequently killed, a
young herdsman looking for his cattle, thereby beginning his man-eating career.
The Chowgarh man-eater alternated between preying upon cattle and humans and
ultimately became more focused on humans after its large cub was killed. This
cub had assisted her in bringing down cattle.
Swayne (1895) discussed a
parasitic relationship between humans and lions in Somalia. This revolved
around a detailed calendar of caravan movements which was influenced by
shipping schedules and seasonal availability of caravan-transported goods: "The movements of the
native encampments seem chiefly to influence the changes in the quarters of the
lions, the latter following the karias <herds> as they move to fresh
pasture. When a family with its flocks and herds and its karias, moves, its
attendant lions, if there should be any, accompany it, being sometimes
man-eaters and more often cattle-eaters. Last June my own caravan, while
returning to the coast from Ogaden, was followed by a pair of hungry lions. We
discovered this by chance, when some scouts of mine, happened to go back along
the road" (293-294). Pitman (1931) describes an incident
in SW Uganda in 1928 when four lions claimed 15 cattle in a few weeks. Little
attention was paid to this incident and due to a communication gap, nothing
more was heard for several months. Within 9 months, humans were included among
the victims. Before they were destroyed, they had claimed more than 250 head of
cattle and no less than 22 humans. In historic Tsavo, at least three circumstances
brought about massive movements of people and their accompanying livestock:
caravans, the building of the railway, and troop deployments during World War
I. When mass movements occur, infirm and injured livestock and food
debris are left to the carnivores. The situation for Tsavo was particularly
acute, as the region is known as the ‘nyika’, a dry, thorny shrubland with
particularly low prey density (Leuthold and Leuthold, 1976). French-Sheldon (1892), Lugard (1893), Ansorge
(1899), and Patterson (1907) all state that caravans, including those passing
through Tsavo, were routinely stalked by hyenas and/or lions, attracted by the
food refuse as well as the livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys (Equus
asinus) that often
accompanied these expeditions. French-Sheldon (1892) writes: ”When we camped for the night we were obliged to form a hedge of
thorn-bushes and circle the encampment with huge bonfires to keep the wild
beasts from attacking us. It was terrifying to hear the continuous roar of
lions resounding on all sides.....and to see the glare of hyena eyes in the
darkness of the umbrageous surroundings. A sense of abject helplessness
momentarily possessed me….”(p.162). Bringing large numbers of
domestic ungulates into a naturally prey-depauperate region as Tsavo, is an
obvious attractions to the local carnivore community. During the mid-1890's,
advance railway crews in the Tsavo area were charged with clearing bush and the
construction of embankments ahead of the Uganda Railway. Hill (1976) writes
that in 1897-1898 over 90% of the 1502 camels, donkeys and cattle used for
transport had died. These animals were victims of tse tse flies, lack of water
in the Taru desert, (Patterson, 1907; Hill, 1976) and other ailments. During
World War I, there was substantial mortality among the thousands of transport
animals fuelling the war effort against the Germans in the Tsavo region. The
British were actually grateful that carcasses of dead and dying transport
animals (up to 20 per day) could simply be abandoned in the bush, 100 yards
from camp. Lions and hyenas followed in the wake of troop movements and ‘were
assured of a feast every night’ (Percival 1928, p. 295). Percival states that,
with such inadvertent provisioning, the boldness of the lions and hyenas around
army camps grew. He continues:
‘When on safari in the reserve in 1919-1920, I
was struck by the boldness of the hyenas; they hung round the camp at night,
coming to such close quarters that they kept the dogs barking incessantly. I
felt quite sure that this unusual temerity, greater than I have known the
brutes to display anywhere else, may be explained by their experience during
the war' (p.295). Percival portrayed lions
of the coastal region as particularly large and aggressive. Soldiers mounted on
horseback came across lions that: ’learned that food in the shape of horses
abandoned on account of injuries or sickness were to be had without exertion on
their part, and they dogged the mounted men day and night. As this was near the
German lines, firing was strictly forbidden; hence the lions grew bold and
exceedingly troublesome. They would come fearlessly up to the very outskirts of
a camp’ (p.287). b. Human/carnivore conflict in Tsavo:
species profiles, sex, age, and seasonal data In Kenya today, pastoral peoples can be
compensated for the loss of domestic stock. Kenya Wildlife Service has
established ‘incident report’ log-books that document the circumstances
surrounding conflicts between carnivores and humans. Between 1994 and 1998, a
total of 121 incidents between large carnivores and humans and their livestock
were registered by KWS officials based in Voi (Tsavo East National Park, TABLE
2). Lions were
responsible for 93% of these incidents. Collectively, cheetah, leopard and
hyenas accounted for only 7% of the incidents; they exclusively attacked sheep
and goats. In areas where they co-occur with lions, leopards typically select
for smaller prey (Kerbis Peterhans, 1990; Fay, et al. 1995; Treves and
Naughton-Treves, 1999). Conversely, lion predominately attacked cattle (63%),
with sheep and goats secondary (27%). Specific data for lions is detailed in TABLE
3. Male lions
attacked cattle more often (41/71=58%) than female lions (30/71=42%), while
females preferentially attacked sheep and goats (18/30=60% vs. 12/30=40%).
Multiple killings were relatively common. Females with cubs killed more
individuals per attack than either male lions or females without cubs,
averaging 4.8 sheep/goats and 2.5 cows per attack. Male lions averaged 3.25
goats and 1.6 cows per attack, while solitary females killed an average of 1.4
sheep/goats and 1.3 cows per attack. Female lions with young were more prone to
multiple kills, taking at least four goats on six occasions (on one occasion 20
were killed); 3-6 cows were killed on eight occasions. One male lion killed 18
goats, while individual leopards killed eight and 10 goats on separate
occasions, obvious examples of 'surplus killing' (sensu Kruuk, 1972). According
to Kenya Wildlife Service archives, the most recent incidents of ‘man-eating’
at Tsavo East N.P. were recorded in October 1994 and July 1998. Assuming an equal sex ratio, male lions were
more likely to attack domestic stock than females (61 vs. 51 attacks). Data
from most African localities indicate that adult female lions typically
outnumber adult males by ratios ranging from 1.4:1 to 4:1: Lake Manyara
(Makacha and Schaller 1969: 3 to 1), Kafue (Mitchel et al. 1965: 1.7:1),
Serengeti plains (Adamson 1964: 3:1, Schaller 1972: 2:1), and Kruger National
Parks (Anonymous 1960: 1.4:1). Schaller (1972) describes more equal, but still
male-heavy sex ratios in the Serengeti woodlands while Rogers (1974) describes
the same for lions in Selous National Park, Tanzania. Preliminary data from
Tsavo (Russell, personal communication) indicate a predominance of females.
Among 64 lion distributed between 5 prides, Russell only documented 10 adult
males. This suggests that the
impact of male lions in Tsavo is especially disproportionate to their numbers.
However, according to KWS archives, female lion with dependent cubs can be
especially destructive; they accounted for the highest number of kills per
attack. Between 1994 and 1998, adult male lions were mostly responsible for
attacks on humans in Tsavo East National Park, accounting for 5 of 6 attacks
(83%) and both deaths. Several authors have
speculated on possible seasonal correlations of human/lion conflict. For
eastern Africa, Jackson (1894) claims that attacks should occur after the
rains, between March and the end of July, when prey are dispersed. Guggisberg
(1961) restates this hypothesis, but provides no data. He asserts that during
the wet season in Tsavo, lions become more troublesome for pastoralists. He
attributes this to the dispersal of game making them harder to secure. He
further adds that the rustling of the taller grass during this time of year
alerts potential prey to the approach of predators. However, modern data from
the Tsavo East incident report logs do not support Guggisberg’s assertion. The
wettest months in Voi, Kenya (Tsavo East NP) are typically March, April,
November, and December (Kenya Government, 1970). During the 5-year period for which we have data,
there were a total of 29 incidents with lions reported during these 20 months
(4 months x 5 years), TABLE 2 Kenya Wildlife
Service, Incident Log Books 1994-1998
representing 121 Incidents Voi, Tsavo East
National Park | # of
attacks by: | Total # of
attacks by Carnivora (%) | Total # of
cattle attacks (# killed) | # times
sheep & goat attacked (# killed) | Attacks on
people D/I/T* | Other
attacks | Lion | | 112 (93%) | 71 (127) | 30 (108) | 2/4/2 | 3 | Leopard | | 4 (3%) | | | | | | Males | 3 | | 3 (21) | | | | Females | 1 | | 1 (5) | | | Hyaena | | 2 (2%) | | | | | | Male | 1 | | 1 (1) | | | | Female |
| | | |
