Two lion brothers lately swam farther than some other lion on file. They swam practically a mile (1.5 kilometers) throughout the Kazinga Channel in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth Nationwide Park. A drone recorded the unbelievable feat, made immensely extra unbelievable when you think about that one of many lions solely has three legs. Oh sure, and the water was teeming with crocodiles and hippos.
The lion brothers didn’t take such an enormous swim calmly. In response to New Scientist, they bailed on three earlier makes an attempt to cross earlier than they succeeded on the fourth try. The 2 lions look tiny on the drone footage in contrast the the large dimension of the channel, however they’re not the one little dots within the water. The opposite animals current within the channel are doubtless Nile crocodiles and/or hippos—each formidable foes for a lion on the aquatic animals’ turf.
Whereas it appears tough sufficient to swim that far via enemy territory, think about doing it with solely three limbs. At one level in his life, one of many lions (known as Jacob by researchers) misplaced a leg after changing into caught in a poacher’s entice. However that didn’t cease Jacob from making the cross together with his brother.
And that brings us to the large query: Why did these lions undertake such a harmful crossing? For the women, in fact. At the least, that’s what researchers assume. They doubtless heard the women’ name from throughout the channel and got here working—or, uh, swimming.
Watch clips of the three-legged lion and his brother cross the Kazinga Channel right here:
