In 1898, two male lions without manes appeared in Kenya and ate 135 workers in one year, until they were killed, and the truth about cannibalism was not discovered until they were killed.
All statements in this article are based on reliable sources
A thrilling event once took place on Kenyan soil, and it was not an ordinary wildlife attack, but two maneless chavo lions that raged in 1898 and were not subdued until the British engineer Henry Patterson fought bravely.
At the beginning of the project, the British colonial regime was pushing forward with the construction of the railway from Kenya to Uganda, and a large number of workers were dispatched from India.
British engineer Patterson quickly became a key figure in solving the problem, and he went deep into the lion-infested area to uncover the truth about the pair of man-eating lions.
The two Chavo lions crept into the workers' tents at night and brutally took innocent lives, and in order to escape this threat, Patterson launched a chilling hunt with multiple traps, but the pair of man-eating lions were always able to dodge it easily.
Patterson's wisdom and persistence were finally demonstrated in a wooden trap using monkey carcasses as bait, the first man-eating lion was successfully captured, and in the ensuing chase, Patterson's team finally killed another man-eating lion in a series of gunfire, and although the incident came to an end, Patterson's doubts did not dissipate.
In order to better understand the behavior of the two man-eating lions, Patterson invited a number of zoologists, and through the analysis of the carcasses and bones of the man-eating lions, they found that the teeth of the two lions were badly damaged, and it turned to attack humans because of dental problems, but the more shocking discovery was that the Chavo lion used to have a mane.
After delving into the life Xi and evolutionary history of the Chavo lion, zoologists have revealed the reason for the disappearance of the Chavo lion's mane, and since the 15th century, the European colonial expansion has had a huge impact on the Chavo lion, especially the male Chavo lion, which has been massacred on a large scale due to the Europeans' penchant for decorating various items with the male lion's mane.
This brutal hunting led to the evolution of the Chavo lion, from the 16th century, the number of male lions with long manes gradually decreased, and even some male lions lost their manes altogether, and by the 19th century, the Chavo male lions could hardly find individuals with long manes.
With the expansion of European colonizers in Kenya, the slave trade became an unavoidable problem, and in the process of transporting black slaves, the dead black slave corpses were abandoned on the roadside and became one of the food sources of the Chavo lions.
At the same time, the habitat of the Chavo lions has been severely damaged, and the prey they would have been able to hunt has become less and less, forcing them to find other sources of food.
After eating carcasses for a long time, Chavo lions gradually developed the Xi of attacking humans, once they could not prey on other prey, or starved to a certain extent, they would turn to attack humans, Chavo lions are also known as one of the most dangerous animals in the world because of their danger, although their reputation is not good, but this does not hide their tenacious survival instinct for survival.
Looking back at the 1898 Chavo lion cannibalism, the contradiction between humans and lions makes people think deeply, although lions are powerful and intelligent wild animals, they are beasts after all, and in order to survive, they will pay any price, even if it is attacking humans.
Some human behaviors will inevitably reduce the habitat of other animals, lead to the rupture of the ecological balance, and even trigger the extinction of some species, and conflicts between the two sides are destined to be unavoidable.
The key is how humans can live more responsibly and harmoniously with nature, and how to find a balance between survival and protection, which is not only a legend about man-eating lions, but also a severe test of the interdependence and co-existence of humans and nature.
Source: Sohu.com
