Uganda Lions Set Long-Distance Swim Record

A couple of lions in Uganda recently made global headlines by achieving an incredible long-distance swimming record that most folks — even big cat researchers and experts — thought impossible.

According to the New York Times, the feat was accomplished by a couple of male lions (brothers Tibu and Jacob) last February, who after losing a battle for territory inside Queen Elizabeth National Park, decided to seek a new home by swimming roughly a mile across the hippo and crocodile filled Kazinga Channel.

It’s the longest lion swim ever recorded. Even more incredible is the fact that Jacob has just three legs, after most of his back left limb in a poacher’s snare several years ago.

In their report on the crossing, National Geographic said, “Cats may not have nine lives, but Jacob the lion comes close. He’s already survived four tragedies that could have killed a lesser lion: Snaring, trapping, poisoning, and a buffalo goring.”

But getting across wasn’t easy. “The lions struggled on their first three tries to cross,” the Times reported. “During the second attempt, the drone that was tracking them picked up a large thermal signature that may have been a crocodile or a hippo in pursuit; the two male lions split into a Y formation before hurrying back to shore.”

“It just shows that if these animals are given half a chance to continue, they can still eke out an existence, and that’s pretty amazing,” lion researcher Alex Braczkowski told National Geographic. “It’s heroic stuff.”

Read more

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/14/science/swimming-lions-3-legged.htmlhttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/three-legged-lion-uganda-symbol-of-hope

Photos Alex Braczkowski