The science of 'man-eating' among lions Panthera Leo with a reconstruction of the natural history of the 'Man-eaters of Tsavo'

The story of the 'Man-eaters of Tsavo' has been retold through script, cinema, and oral tradition in the 100+ years since their infamous 'reign of terror'. Despite their predictably broad popular appeal, the details pertaining to the natural history of these lions Panthera leo have never been reviewed. The skulls and skins of these lions have resided at the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago) for over 75 years. An analysis of the skull of the primary culprit displays a traumatic injury that may have limited his predatory ability in subduing 'normal' prey. A sample of hairs, reflecting the diet of both man-eaters, is preserved in the broken and exposed cavities of their canines. Various additional circumstances likely contributed to their man-eating habit. The Tsavo incident closely followed the debut of rinderpest on the continent, which devastated cattle and buffalo, the primary prey of the Tsavo lion. The Tsavo 'nyika' consists of a dense thorn scrub thicket limiting visibility and passage, representing an ideal habitat for an 'ambush predator'. Finally, historical review of the literature reveals that 'man¬-eating' was not an isolated incident at Tsavo. This behaviour was well established in the vicinity of the railway bridge well before these infamous lions appeared, and continued well after their demise, suggesting a recurring opportunity, which may have evolved into a local behavioural tradition. In sum, virtually all of the recognised preconditions for man-eating outbreaks to occur were in effect at Tsavo in the 1890's. Journal of East African Natural History Vol. 90 (1&2) 2001: pp. 1-4

African shrews endemic to the Albertine Rift: two new species of Myosorex (Mammalia: Soricidae) from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The genus Myosorex has a classic relict distribution within sub-Saharan Africa. Montane populations in eastern and western equatorial Africa are separated by ca. 2900 km. Until this study, the closest known populations in southern Africa were separated by nearly 2000 km from the closest populations in the Albertine Rift Valley. Here we document previously unknown populations of Myosorex, representing two new endemic taxa from montane forests adjacent to the Albertine Rift. In conjunction with additional data from Malawi, we fill in major gaps in our knowledge of the biodiversity and distribution of this genus in the areas of the Albertine and Malawi Rift Valleys. We demonstrate that this gap is an artefact of survey effort and collecting serendipity. The two new species described herein, as well as other species of Myosorex from north of the Zambezi River, exhibit limited distributions and are confined to montane habitats, typically above 1000 m. Our new species of Myosorex from Kahuzi-Biega NP (DRC) is the second known species of Myosorex from that park where it is syntopic with Myosorex babaulti. This is the first time that two species of Myosorex co-occur in any forest north of the Zambezi River. This suggests either sympatric speciation or a secondary re-invasion during times of climatic amelioration and forest expansion. The two species described here (Myosorex jejei and Myosorex bururiensis) are associated with two phenetically-defined species groups: the former with a more narrow hexagon-shaped skull, long-tail, and short claws (‘narrow-headed group’) and the latter with a more broad hexagon-shaped skull, short tail and long claws (‘broad-headed group’).Keywords: African shrews; Myosorex; Albertine Rift; endemism; evolution; biogeography; Bururi Forest; Kahuzi-Biega National Park; conservation