In a research, two lions have been filmed performing a unique feat of swimming across a 1 kilometer long distance in Uganda’s Kazinga Channel. The names of the two lion brothers are being told as Jacob and Tibu. Both of them started their journey at night, which is the first time African lions (Panthera leo) have set a new record of long distance swimming. Not only this, the lions chose the water route in which dangerous predators like crocodiles were present for a special reason and performed this feat.
The swim involved many false starts and was fraught with danger. The researchers, in collaboration with the Uganda Wildlife Authority, used heat-detecting drone cameras to track their movements. “Lions are known to occasionally prey on both crocodiles and hippos, but they are themselves vulnerable when they are in the water,” the researchers explained.
“When crossing rivers in Africa, there is a high risk of injury or even death if you encounter a very large Nile crocodile or hippopotamus.” Jacob, a 10-year-old lion well-known to local experts, has a remarkable survival history. He has endured poison from poachers, faced the horns of a killed buffalo, and even had a leg amputated after being caught in a poacher’s net.
Jacob and Tibu’s journey may have been motivated by a search for a mate. But this tale of romantic adventure points to a story of the impact of poaching and human encroachment on the lion population in Queen Elizabeth National Park. “Our science shows that this population has declined by almost half in just five years,” said Alexander Braczkowski, lead author of the study and a conservation biologist at Griffith University in Australia.
However, there is a safe route like a road bridge to travel through this place. Conservationists believe that the lions avoid it due to the presence of people and security forces. The video has been shared on YouTube. This research has been published in a journal called Ecology and Evolution.
Tags: Amazing news, Bizarre news, OMG News, Weird news
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 16, 2024, 19:49 IST
