Man-eating Lions

Why do some Lions become man-eaters?

It has been said that once a Lion eats a person they will often try hunting people again as they then like the taste of human flesh.

This is not the case. A lion does not have many taste preferences, as they will eat just about any meat, especially when they’re hungry. They will even eat rotting meat filled with maggots. A few weeks ago we had a pride of lion eating a large male giraffe, it took them 7 days to finish it. By the 6th day the giraffe meat had tuned into soup it was so rotten, yet the lions kept eating.

The Lions that are most likely to become man-eaters are often old, injured or very ill and are struggling to hunt, so they start looking for alternative prey that might be easier to catch. In some cases a Lion might feel threatened by a person that walks to close to them, and in defence it attacks and kills, possibly turning it into a meal.

Once a Lion has killed a human it may then realize how easy it is to kill us. We are slow and very weak compared to most of the animals that they normally hunt. We are easy prey. In many cases like this, Lions may try hunt humans again, so sadly they must be destroyed to prevent it from happening again.

For more on man-eating lions read: The man-eating lions of the Kruger National Park.