The Tsavo lions mount at the Field museum

The famous man eaters of Tsavo featured in the recent movie "The Ghost and the Darkness" and on display in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago are perhaps a reminder of our ancestors relationship with predators such as lions. Over a period of nine months, these two lions were responsible for the deaths of over 120 people building a railroad in Tsavo in Kenya in 1896.

Col. J. H. Patterson recounts the incident in a leaflet published by the Field Museum in 1925 as well as in his personal journal published in 1907, The Man Eaters of Tsavo and Other East African Adventures. The lions seemed to have no fear of humans. Patterson describes how even bullets would not frighten them, and they would penetrate any defense set up by workers until they were finally shot.

When the first lion was shot, it was so large eight men were needed to carry it back to camp. Both lions were about nine feet long (including the tail), and although they have no manes, they are both male. To find out more about the Tsavo lions, visit the Field Museum Website.

Patterson with the first lion. Images and information from "The Man Eating Lions of Tsavo" written by Lieut. col. J H Patterson and published by the Field Museum press.