Humans taste good to all lions, not just the sick
(www.smh.com.au)
New research shows humans make an attractive meal for all lions - and not just for old and infirm animals that can't catch anything else.
New Scientist magazine says the research shows most man-eating lions are young and healthy.
The two most famous man-eaters, that killed and ate nearly 30 workers building a bridge over Kenya's Tsavo River in 1898, were found to have broken teeth.
The Tsavo lions, brought back to life in the film The Ghost and the Darkness starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer, led scientists to claim dental problems were behind most attacks on humans.
However zoologist Bruce Patterson says his research shows young healthy lions also find it hard to resist feasting on the growing human population.
AAP
You have been warned!
Full Version: Something you need to know
Would love the info Sooz. Thanks.
So noted.
Did they say anything about tigers?
Did they say anything about tigers?
hehe) I love these conversations.. as Camarada said No#1 rule stay off topic 
Well I'll divert to the original for one minute..
A few years ago while I was walking the main street of Arusha there parked in front of the post office a lion that was trussled on top of a truck tighter than a stuffed turkey on Christmas .. being my ever nosey self I went over.. the lion was sedated out cold and I talked to the driver.. apparently the lion had wandered a little to far off for the comfort of neighbours in a village... he wa being transferred to the Serengeti to lead a long happy peaceful life living his old age in peace..
Sorry girls back to your subject..
Ooh, tigers just LERV humans. But this study did not look at tigers. Saw a documentary the other evening about tigers in the forest of Bangladesh. A really serious problem there. Attacks on humans have increased, presumably because changes in the environment have decreased the numbers of the tiger's usual prey (large mammals such as deer).
Did you hear that the Lioness up in Meru National Park has gone off oryx babies and is now infatuated with Impala babies? I wonder why they don't try and get her to raise an orphaned lion cub, of which there are many in the Mara due to the high population of males which chase them off / kill them. Apparently the policy is to let nature take its course, which is a valid point, but surely seeing if the lioness would adopt a lion cub would make sense as an experiment for future scenarios where lions may be a little more scarce than they are now.
Hmm....
In Nairobi, there's sporadic reports of cheetahs escaping the National Park and showing up in people's backyards in Langata. There was a story in the papers a few months ago.
Someone went out to hang up her washing and lo and behold...
Wasn't there a problem with dingos (sp) in Oz at one time?
In Nairobi, there's sporadic reports of cheetahs escaping the National Park and showing up in people's backyards in Langata. There was a story in the papers a few months ago.
Someone went out to hang up her washing and lo and behold...
Wasn't there a problem with dingos (sp) in Oz at one time?
There was that Azariah Chamberlain case quite some time ago where the baby disappeared, parents claimed she was taken from their tent by a dingo, mother accused and convicted of murder on the skimpiest of evidence - she was later acquitted. One of those highly sensationalised cases that splits public opinion - did she or didn't she - rather horrific in my view. Poor parents, poor woman.
Dingoes are just dogs - rather attractive creatures when well cared for - live in the wild but can also be domesticated. In the kids' film Napoleon about the labrador pup who leaves the comfort of his suburban home to seek his wild ancestors (adorable film!) there are the cutest dingo puppies. Dingoes have accompanied Aboriginal people for eons and until the Azariah case did not have a reputation for attacking humans. They will of course attack livestock, especially sheep and baby cattle, so are not well-loved for that.
Dingoes are just dogs - rather attractive creatures when well cared for - live in the wild but can also be domesticated. In the kids' film Napoleon about the labrador pup who leaves the comfort of his suburban home to seek his wild ancestors (adorable film!) there are the cutest dingo puppies. Dingoes have accompanied Aboriginal people for eons and until the Azariah case did not have a reputation for attacking humans. They will of course attack livestock, especially sheep and baby cattle, so are not well-loved for that.
And was there ever a shoot on sight policy re: dingoes at one time? I remember something of the sort...
Children being carried off by animals:
Did you ever hear the story of the 'wolf boy' somewhere in India (appeared in one of Chatwin's books too), about the child who was reared by wolves in the wild and then 'captured' by some locals in the 80's?
I was watching a terrible show once on one of the Latino spanish channels here and there was a little boy called "el niņo mono" (monkey boy). He had a genetic condition that made him very hairy. He was literally covered in long black hair. Some unscrupulous men were using him as a side-show freak in a circus.
Children being carried off by animals:
Did you ever hear the story of the 'wolf boy' somewhere in India (appeared in one of Chatwin's books too), about the child who was reared by wolves in the wild and then 'captured' by some locals in the 80's?
I was watching a terrible show once on one of the Latino spanish channels here and there was a little boy called "el niņo mono" (monkey boy). He had a genetic condition that made him very hairy. He was literally covered in long black hair. Some unscrupulous men were using him as a side-show freak in a circus.
QUOTE (Camarada @ Feb. 13 2003,18:33)
And was there ever a shoot on sight policy re: dingoes at one time? I remember something of the sort...
Oh dear, Australians have a long history of shooting animals that threaten the welfare of their livestock... roos, Tasmanian devils and tigers (now extinct), dingoes, rabbits, wild horses... black men
Very sad...
And the history of black women there?
Infact, I've been meaning to ask, is Abo a derogatory term?
And re: blacks in Oz, were they 'used' as domestic workers a la South Africa? Or are/were most of the domestics of Asian descent? Are there aboriginals in parliament etc?
I've read loads on the booze and fragmented aboriginal social structures but confess not to know much of their day to day living, especially back when times were really bad (that's if they've improved).
And the history of black women there?
Infact, I've been meaning to ask, is Abo a derogatory term?
And re: blacks in Oz, were they 'used' as domestic workers a la South Africa? Or are/were most of the domestics of Asian descent? Are there aboriginals in parliament etc?
I've read loads on the booze and fragmented aboriginal social structures but confess not to know much of their day to day living, especially back when times were really bad (that's if they've improved).
Yes, "abo" is derogatory. Indigenous peoples is the preferred term these days - this includes mainland Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders who live just a stone's throw from PNG.
Aboriginal men were recruited as stockmen and farm labourers, women not so much as domestics as in SA but I could be mistaken. Because the traditional aboriginal way of life is that of nomadic hunter-gatherers, I think maybe the women's housekeeping skills were not quite up to scratch!
But in the 20th century, there was that period when children of mixed blood were taken from their black families and "educated" - in fact many were trained for domestic service for girls or farm work for boys. Incredibly, the same thing happened to thousands of poor children from the UK - children who were in child care institutions for various reasons found themselves shipped off to Oz; their families were not informed. I think some went to South Africa and Canada too.
If you're interested I'll try to find you some reading about the history of Australian aborigines since colonisation. It's not a pretty story.
And yes there are indigenous politicians - not many, but don't forget that the indigenous population is proportionally very small - can't be compared with any African situation - more like US and Canada.
Aboriginal men were recruited as stockmen and farm labourers, women not so much as domestics as in SA but I could be mistaken. Because the traditional aboriginal way of life is that of nomadic hunter-gatherers, I think maybe the women's housekeeping skills were not quite up to scratch!
But in the 20th century, there was that period when children of mixed blood were taken from their black families and "educated" - in fact many were trained for domestic service for girls or farm work for boys. Incredibly, the same thing happened to thousands of poor children from the UK - children who were in child care institutions for various reasons found themselves shipped off to Oz; their families were not informed. I think some went to South Africa and Canada too.
If you're interested I'll try to find you some reading about the history of Australian aborigines since colonisation. It's not a pretty story.
And yes there are indigenous politicians - not many, but don't forget that the indigenous population is proportionally very small - can't be compared with any African situation - more like US and Canada.
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