Recent studies in Uganda suggest a unique reason why lions swim long distances

Posted on 26 July 2024 By Louise Bell

Researchers at Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park have made a remarkable discovery about male lions making hazardous journeys in their environment. 

Unsplash/Fabrizio Frigeni

The studies suggest that the potential decline of female lions has spurred their male counterparts to find mates (by any means possible). The dwindling female lion population could be due to various factors, including conflict between humans and these big cats.

The field team has witnessed various attempts by the male lion population to swim across the park channel, which is filled with crocodiles and hippos. The most impressive of these remarkable swims occurred in February 2024, when two lions swam almost 1.6 km between two lakes in the park’s vicinity.

The field team recorded footage of this magnificent achievement, which documents the determination of this species at its finest. Orin Cornille, a member of the Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust Lion Monitoring, has commented on this discovery, 

We’d speculated for a long time that lions in Queen Elizabeth [National Park] were swimming across the Kazinga, but no one had ever captured this behaviour visually…”

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