Diseased Teeth Didn't Turn Serengeti Lions Into Man-Eaters

The East African (Nairobi)

February 28, 2005

Nairobi

At the end of last year, the BBC reported that Tanzania wildlife officials shot and killed a lion which is believed to have killed as many as 35 people. The officials were quoted as explaining that the lion had resorted to eating humans because it had a broken molar which made it difficult for it to eat hard animal meat.

"It probably gave up hunting animals like buffalo because the meat was tough and caused it pain while chewing," Rolf Baldus, co-ordinator of the GTZ wildlife programme told the BBC.

Animal experts have however disputed the theory. A Tanzanian lion researcher says the report is only meant to amuse the public.

"The theory lacks the hard facts of scientific research," says Dennis Ikanda, a research assistant on the Serengeti Lion Project. The project has conducted the longest study on lions in the world.

Mr Ikanda says man-eating behaviour by lions is usually caused by sickness, injury or old age. However, no studies have been done to test this theory. The Rufiji man-eater which was the subject of the BBC report, he says, might have suffered from a tooth abscess but it cannot be concluded that this altered his food habits.

Man-eating lions killed over 2,000 people in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania within a few years in the 1900s.

"Our field assessment of the events surrounding this particular man-eating outbreak suggests other lions were also involved," Mr Ikanda says. He adds that interviews with victims and their family members suggested that even female lions were involved.

Mr Ikanda says it is unlikely all the lions involved suffered tooth abscesses. "We have studied over 300 lions in the Serengeti plains and Ngorongoro Crater for over 40 years, with some clearly suffering from abscesses but no man-eating outbreaks have occurred."

He says facts surrounding the man-eating behaviour of lions in Rufiji District and the rest of southern Tanzania indicate the behaviour is more of a localised 'social pride tradition' passed on from one generation to the next. Since the colonial era in the 19th century, lions have killed over 3,000 people.

"Our assessment indicates an upsurge in attack rates since 2001. This is attributed to an increased lion population in the area, environmental changes leading to bush encroachment around human settlements and local people's action and reactions to the problem, influenced by local traditional belief systems," says the scientist.

Historical records indicate that man -eating is a typical behaviour among big cats and other large predators. Humans and other primates were the primary prey base for African lions and leopards before the introduction of improved weapons and better protective measures during the colonial era in the 19th century. The Sanga man-eaters of Uganda, the Tsavo man-eaters of Kenya and the Njombe man-eaters of Tanzania killed over 2,000 people within a few years in the mid 1900s.

Sporadic outbreaks of man-eating lions, however, continue to occur today.

Records from the Wildlife Division indicate that lions killed more than 500 people in central and southern Tanzania between 1989 and 2004.