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Jacob the three legged Lion swam for 32 km in a lake infested by many crocodiles
(Photo by Alexander Braczkowski)
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Named Jacob, a limping three-legged lion, and his brother Tibu were recorded swimming across the Kazinga Channel, which connects lakes George and Edward, in Queen Elizabeth National Park, western Uganda. Scientists engaged in carnivore studies, who have been monitoring the two big cats, said the swim was close to one mile, as recorded in drone footage.
The drone footage captured by researcher Luke Ochse shows the two male lions first making two attempts to cross the water channel on a dark night but getting frightened by what seemed to be a crocodile. On both attempts, they are seen returning to the shores. Like other cats, lions hate dipping themselves in water. Worse, the 32km-wide Kazinga Channel is infested with several species that pose a threat to the big cats.
Dr. Alexander Braczkowski, a conservation biologist currently working with Griffith University in Australia and Northern Arizona University based in the US, led the carnivore census in Queen Elizabeth National Park in 2017 and a subsequent one around Uganda's protected areas in 2022. Monitoring the two lions swimming such a long distance, he remarked how dramatic it was.
Dr. Braczkowski said the two 'brothers' had lost a territorial battle 12 hours before their phenomenal trek across the risky waters. Losing the battle to youthful big cats on one side of the national park and hearing attractive roars of lionesses on the other side of the water body is believed to have motivated the two lions to try their hardest. The scientists describe their findings in a paper that has been accepted for publication in the journal Ecology and Evolution.
According to The New York Times, lions have been observed swimming across water bodies in different landscapes outside Uganda "but rarely farther than 150ft." It adds: "In 2022, a lion swam around 330 feet across the Zambezi River from Zimbabwe to Zambia. In November 2023, a young male lion swam across the Rufiji River in Tanzania, crossing as much as 985 feet of water."
Whereas some big cats, such as lions and jaguars in landscapes of America, India, and other African countries, are believed to have swum quite long distances, none of such incidents has ever been evidenced the same way the Ugandan duo registered the record. Swimming for a distance close to a mile, Jacob and Tibu swam for approximately 5,000 feet across the Kazinga Channel, but not in a straight format.
Jacob and Tembu made history (Photos by Alexander Braczkowski)
Jacob the Survivor
Jacob, the three-legged lion, has survived several incidents that nearly took its life. Mustafah Nsubuga, a scientist in carnivore studies, said Jacob was first ensnared when he crossed into the Democratic Republic of Congo. Following the lion with its satellite signal, Nsubuga, with assistance from Dr. Ludwig Siefert, the park's long-standing vet, rescued the lion, and it went back on its four legs.
However, the same carnivore was trapped again just four months after the first rescue, and in a bid to save its life, the affected leg had to be amputated. Through relentless care, treatment, and nourishment, the lion regained its strength and hunting skills. It returned to Uganda from the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo, reuniting with its then 14-member pride.
Catastrophe befell the lion again in 2021 when several members of its pride were poisoned by community members. Jacob narrowly escaped the poisoned bait. Nsubuga narrated several perilous encounters of the lion with big mammals like buffaloes, escaping with grave wounds that could only be treated by human vets operating within Queen Elizabeth National Park. Jacob later met Tibu, a male lion of similar age, and together they formed a coalition that survives to this day.
The latest carnivore census was carried out in 2022, and its preliminary results were released in May 2023 by Braczkowski, Arjuni Gopalaswamy, Tutilo Mudumba, Nic Elliot, and others, stating that there are approximately 40 lions remaining in Queen Elizabeth National Park. However, a remarkable number of more than 200 lions still exist in Murchison Falls National Park.
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