Here they are today. They were actually somewhat bigger in real life. They had been made into rugs before the Field Museum acquired them in the '20s. They had to be trimmed a bit to restore them to lion shapes.
Posted on 04/16/2002 3:11:56 PM PDT by scouse
April 15, 2002
Scientists link bald men to notorious short-haired lion
A UNIQUE community of savage, man-eating lions may share a bond with bald men, scientists have found.
The infamous Tsavo lions in eastern Kenya killed more than 130 people during a reign of terror in the 19th century.
One unique characteristic of the lions, which still inhabit Tsavo East National Park, is that the males have no manes.
Scientists have now confirmed for the first time that this is a genetic trait and suspect that high levels of the male hormone testosterone may account both for the lack of manes and the lions’ unusual aggression.
Testosterone is known to cause male-pattern baldness in human beings, and heightens aggression and territoriality. It also helps to explain the peculiar social system of the Tsavo lions, which is shared by no other lion population in Africa.
Whereas other lion prides consist of a few females and two to four males, Tsavo lions live in groups of seven or more females ruled by a single, highly dominant male.
The lions’ reputation grew after more than 130 men building a railway bridge across the Tsavo River were killed and eaten by two of them in 1898. The episode was recounted in the 1996 film, The Ghost and the Darkness.
Construction was halted until the lions were hunted and killed. Their bodies were stuffed and are now on display at the Field Museum, Chicago.
Bruce Patterson, a member of the research team, said: “Tsavo lions are thought to be especially aggressive, and high levels of male hormones may simultaneously underlie this aggression, their unique social system, and manelessness.”
A British biochemist is joining Dr Patterson and other scientists in Kenya today to help them to investigate the theory.
Dr Julie Thornton, from the University of Bradford, will examine samples from the lions to measure levels of testosterone. “I’ll be staying safely in the laboratory,” she said.
Earlier research was published online last week by the Canadian Journal of Zoology.
Here they are today. They were actually somewhat bigger in real life. They had been made into rugs before the Field Museum acquired them in the '20s. They had to be trimmed a bit to restore them to lion shapes.
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