Lion who lost one leg in poacher attack swims record-breaking 1.5km in crocodile-infested river
Jacob is often described as 'Africa's most resilient lion,' and he has an incredible track record to prove how tough he is. Jacob, also known as the 'lion with nine lives,' has cheated death not once, but numerous times.?
Jacob, the unkillable lion?
He survived being gored by a buffalo, his family was poisoned, and he was caught in a poacher¡¯s snare.?Jacob also survived yet another poaching attempt but lost one hind leg in the process. But that has not slowed down the resident of Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda even a bit.
Also read:?Flying Hippos? Scientists say the giants can get airborne
Longest swim by lions
The ten-year-old lion has now added another incredible feat to his name. Earlier this year, Jacob and his brother Tibu were filmed swimming across the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park at night. The two lions swam across the Kazinga Channel, covering a distance of 1.5 km. This, according to researchers, is the longest swim of lions ever recorded.
Water infested with hippos, crocodiles
What makes Jacob's achievement even more impressive is the fact that the Kazinga Channel is infested with hippos and Nile crocodiles, which are known to attack lions.
¡°His swim, across a channel filled with high densities of hippos and crocodiles, is a record-breaker and is a truly amazing show of resilience in the face of such risk,¡± Dr. Alexander Braczkowski from Griffith University, who led a team that filmed the channel crossing, said.
Also read:?Trio of male lions flee for their lives from aggressive hippo in water stream
Why did the lion cross the channel
The two brothers, who are regularly monitored by researchers, were once again filmed swimming across the channel. According to researchers, the two brothers are making the audacious swim in search of females.
There are estimated to be around 40 lions left in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and the population is under pressure from a sex ratio problem. There are no females in their territory, which made Jacob and Tibu swim across the channel. But across the channel, too, they were unsuccessful in finding mates and were chased away by other male lions there.
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