For several months, the two lions had abandoned the area in between attacks. It is possible that they went somewhere else that was more abundant in prey. Wildebeest may also have been present in the region they traveled to.
The researchers noted that they had expected to detect buffalo DNA. In 2015, previous research had identified a single buffalo hair from one of the lions.
However, in this study, no buffalo hair was found. African buffalo are one of the main food sources for lions in the Tsavo region.
These two Tsavo lions may have preyed on wildebeest because an infectious viral disease called rinderpest spread among buffalo, reducing their population.
When rinderpest was introduced to Africa in the 1890s, approximately 90 percent of cattle were killed. The buffalo experienced similar effects.
The team isn’t sure why the Tsavo lion duo hunted humans. They ate around 35 humans, which made up 35 percent of the diet of one lion and about 13 percent of the second.
One theory is that the lions developed a human-eating habit due to rinderpest reducing the populations of buffalo and cattle.
Another idea is that painful dental injuries in their jaws led to the behavior because it became harder to hunt large animals.
The findings were published in the journal Current Biology.
