Man-eating lions dine on ecotourists

London Evening Standard ^ | 13 February 2003 | John Von Radowitz

[ZULU]

Man-eating lions dine on ecotourists By John Von Radowitz, Evening Standard 13 February 2003 Ecotourists are helping nature in an unexpected way - by becoming "fast food of the bush" for man-eating lions, it was claimed today.

Reports of lions eating humans are increasing in Africa, and one reason may be more tourists camping on the big cats' doorstep.

Craig Packer, of Minnesota University, told New Scientist magazine: "There have been a fair number of attacks on humans in the last couple of years, including some in South African camps.

"The problem is, there is a growing number of camps putting people in the bush right next to lions."

Separate research casts doubt on the theory that lions get a taste for human flesh only when illness or injury means they cannot hunt faster four-legged prey.

Zoologist Bruce Patterson examined the bones of 23 maneaters in Kenya. Most were healthy young male lions. He believes males expelled from prides meet more humans on their travels. "It may all be too much for a lion to resist," he said.

The most famous attack on humans occurred in 1898 when two lions terrorised railway workers building a bridge over Kenya's Tsavo River, killing and eating nearly 30 people.

[ZULU]

HAAAHAAAHAAAHAAAAA!!!!!

[HumanaeVitae]

Cue Elton John:

"...It's the Ciiiirrcle of Liiiiiife..."

[Mr. Silverback]

ROTFLMBO!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this one is over here already.

[Psalm 73]

mmmmmm, humans - the other, other white meat...
(Those of us with housecats realize that if they were the size of, say, dobermans, they would surely rip off our limbs and bat us around before they ate us.)
Dogs are wimpy, cats are edgy...

[elbucko]

Separate research casts doubt on the theory that lions get a taste for human flesh only when illness or injury means they cannot hunt faster four-legged prey.

I thought this was a kinda "Social Security" and "Medicare" for the Senior Simba's.

[Desdemona]

Darwin awards.

[LibKill]

Hey, all you lions! Bon appétit!

[NorseWood]

I hope that the tourists weren't Rotarians. The headline of "Lions Eat Rotarians" would really cause a panic!

[Kenton]

I remember a story I heard (supposedly true) about an animal rights activist who was also a wildlife photographer that was out in Yellowstone photographing a particular family of grizzlies.

Every day the photographer got a little bit closer to the bears... she is said to have told people that she felt that she and the family of grizzly bears had become "friends".

Momma Grizzly had of course been watching this encroachment on her and her cubs for days, trying to figure out if the woman was a threat. Apparently Momma Griz eventually decided that she wasn't a threat, and that meant she must be "the other thing"... food.

How Darwinian...

[dfwgator]

"It's one of those 'circle of life' things" Hopper - A Bug's Life.

[ZULU]

Sorry

[Future Snake Eater]

The most famous attack on humans occurred in 1898 when two lions terrorised railway workers building a bridge over Kenya's Tsavo River, killing and eating nearly 30 people.

Ah, yes, "The Ghost and The Darkness." Great movie. I've always wondered just how much of it was Hollywood and how much of it was truthful.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

"Human Shields" on holiday become "Human Meals".

[jlogajan]

Man-eating lions dine on ecotourists

Ahhhh, nature in balance.

[Post Toasties]

Sounds a bit like what happened with a woman who put honey on her daughter's hand when a black bear wandered into their picnic area. Warm fuzzies indeed.

[sauropod]

Eco-tourists. The Other White Meat.

[ZULU]

Read the Man-Eaters of Tsavo.
Two male man-eating lions in the Tsavo district actually did hold up construction on a railroad until killed by a real big-game hunter (Not that nitwit Douglas - he'd probably faint if a real gun went off in front of him.)


There is another book which came out recently called Ghosts of Tsavo. The author conducted a study of the Tsavo Lions. He found the lions in that part of Africa differed in many respects from the Lions in other parts of Africa. The Tsavo Lions were much larger, did not live in large prides for the most part, and fed primarily on Cape Buffalo, a much more dangerous prey item than antelope and zebras. Unlike in other parts of Africa, the male lions in the Tsavo area did most of the killing themselves. They also tended to have smaller manes. I think he related the size of manes to temperature factors. His feeelings were that they regarded people as just another food source.

He also noted that lions in general appear to studiously avoid Maasai. Maasai stand out as they are over 6 feet tall, wear a bright red cloak and carry very long spears. They enjoy skewring lions with them and can hit a target at 75 yards. Although their traditional ritual of requiring a young moran or warrior to kill a lion or grabe a charging lion by the tail has been somwhat stiffled by the liberal left wing tree-huggers who run their government, they apparently continue to follow tradition cladestinely, hence the reticence of lions to approach them. My kind of people.

[CygnusXI]

All your tourists are belong to us!

[SquirrelKing]

There is sort of a theme there...

snicker, snicker

[Carry_Okie]

It's a whole new kind of happy meal! :-P

The liberals are taking victimhood to a new level!