| On September 2, 1998 the Field Museum received the
donation of the largest man eating lion on record. (measuring 5 feet from
floor to ear tips and 10 feet 6 inches in length) The lion was a
maneless male, much like the famous man eaters of Tsavo already on
display at the museum. It was donated by Wayne Hosek of West Hills, CA.
The lion was actually shot in 1991 near the South Laungwa National Park
in Zambia. |
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The man eater of Mfuwe (pronounced muh-FU-way) had killed and ate at least six people during a two month period. Hosek had learned of the lion when his safari guide had informed him it had killed the sixth victim, an elderly woman from a nearby village called Ngozo. Hosek decided to go after the lion when he heard several lionesses had been killed by park rangers, who at the time didn't know it was a maneless male. Hosek, the safari guide, and a couple trackers visited Ngozo. There they learned that a day after killing the elderly woman, the lion had returned to her home and carried off a bag of clothes. The lion had taken them to the banks of the Laungwa River near the village, where it returned at night to play with them. It was here that a blind was set, and after a week of waiting the lion finally shot.
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The man eater of Mfuwe is now on permanent display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The mount is located in the basement level, separate from the original Man Eaters of Tsavo. |
