In 1898, two lions terrorized a camp of builders of the bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya. Predators visited at night and stole people from their tents. 28 people died. The cannibals were shot by British soldier John Henry Patterson, who later donated the remains to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. US and Kenyan scientists examined the skulls of predators, extracted DNA from hairs hidden in teeth and identified the species belonging to the victims.

In the early 1990s, museum worker Thomas Gnoske found “Tsavo man-eaters” hiding in skull storage tanks and tried to find out what they ate. The scientist determined that these were adult males, albeit maneless. He was the first to notice that thousands of hairs were stuck in the sockets of the teeth.

In 2001, Gnoske published a paper on this, in which he suggested that damage to the teeth may have provoked the lions into cannibalism. Preliminary analysis of the hair structure showed that they belonged to canna, impala and wildebeest antelopes, porcupines, wild boars and zebras.

A new study published in the journal Current Biology, analysis results of genomic material taken from hair are presented, They are stuck in tooth cavities. It turned out that lions ate at least two giraffes and a zebra. They also hunted antelope, water goats, antelope and antelope. They discovered human and lion DNA. Not all victims could be identified due to lack of genetic material.

Researchers led by Alida de Fleming from the University of Illinois (USA) have created a database of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of potential victims alive during a man-eating lion hunt. This type of mitochondrial genome is inherited from the maternal line and can be used for ancestry analysis. According to recent research, mtDNA is stored in the hair without contamination. It is more abundant in cells than nuclear, and the size of the array is smaller, making identification easier.

Analysis of lion mtDNA confirmed the previously expressed version that the man-eaters at Tsavo were maternal relatives of Kenyan or Tanzanian origin. The wool hairs probably got stuck between the teeth during joint care.

The discovery of the antelope genome surprised researchers. According to historical data, in the 1890s the nearest pastures were 90 kilometers away. Lion attacks on road builders began in April 1898, after which the predators disappeared for six months and resumed killing in November. It is possible that during the period of scarcity, the lions took a long walk to find more abundant prey.

According to modern observations, lions in Tsavo prey mainly on buffalo, which are now abundant in the area. Their population was almost wiped out by a viral infection introduced from India in the late 1890s. Perhaps this explains the absence of buffalo DNA in material taken from the teeth. Only one strand of their hair was found microscopically.

As for human DNA, it was possible to determine the mother’s haplogroup K2a. The authors of the article declined further analysis for ethical reasons. Descendants of potential lion victims may still be living in the area.