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In March 1898 the British Started building a railway bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya. The project was led by Lt.Col. Henry Patterson. During the next 9 months of construction, two maneless male Tsavo lions stalked the campsite, dragging indian workers from their tents at night and devouring them. Crews tried to scare off the lions and built campfires and bomas of thorn fences around their camp for protection to keep the man-eaters out, to no vail; the lions crawled throught the thorn fensces. After the new attacks, hundreds of worker fled from Tsavo, halting construction on the bridge.
Hunting
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| The first man eaters killed by Lt. Col. Henry Patterson. |
Finally, the chief engnineer in charge of the railway project they will be, John Henry Patterson, decided the only one solution is to kill the lion demon very disturbing this project. He almost killed by the lion, but eventually, he managed to shoot a lion who's first in December 1898, and two weeks later, he managed to shoot the second.
The Victims
The lion has killed 140 people. Patterson also found the nest of the predators in cave near the edge of the Tsavo River. A lot of victim and pieces of clothing and ornaments. The cave still exist untill now but many bones have been removed, reportedly still a lot of bones still inside.
Expert have recently claimed that the lions only eat 35 peoples/workers. However, this doesn't mean they do not kill many people. They reportedly often kill even when not hungry.
Lions Heritage
The man eaterscan be viewed at the Field Museum in Chicago, and the Government of Kenya has expressed interest in building a museum dedicated entirely to them.
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| The Tsavo Lions bone and display at The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois. |
Factors
Drought and famine during the late 19th century also played a prominent role. The Tsavo region suffered severe drought and famine during the 1860s, 1870s, and 1890s. During the 1860s drought, cholera, and plague brought by Swahili caravan ravaged the region, affecting ethnic groups such as the Maasai, who lived further Inland.
Environmental were also a decisive factor. The quest for Ivory during the 19th century had eliminated elephants from much of Eastern Kenya, including most of Tsavo. Reduce elephants populations resulted in the expansion of woodlands and the reduction of grass-eating herbivores. Unlike the Tsavo of today with large tracts of open expanse, the Tsavo of 1890s was composed of nearly impenetrable, thorn thicket known as 'Nyika, and it was in this thicket environment that the Tsavo were able to stalk and ambush their human prey.
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