(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The famous man-eating lions of Tsavo at the Field Museum did more than just that. A new study explores what else they ate more than a century ago.
Using hair found in the teeth of the two male lions dubbed the man-eaters of Tsavo, scientists from the University of Illinois were able to identify some of what they consumed.
Two male lions killed at least 28 railroad workers in Kenya in 1898. Earlier studies determined that, which was about a quarter of what was initially estimated and featured in the movie "The Ghost and The Darkness” with Michael Douglas.
A new study used DNA testing of hairs from in the lions’ teeth to learn they had eaten humans and giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, oryx and waterbucks. The hairs used in the study were described as being shorter than a pinky fingernail.
One of the researchers said the findings show that century-old hair fragments can lead to the complete reconstruction of mitochondrial genomes.
The British officer who killed the lions sold their hides to the Field Museum a century ago.
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