By: Alexander Zhang

Kazinga Channel, Uganda- Two male lions have been spotted swimming across a channel 20-foot deep and nearly 1 mile across. One of the lions, Jacob, lost a limb in 2020, making the feat seem even more demanding.

On a cold night in February, Jacob and his brother, Tibu, chose to flee Queen Elizabeth National Park after losing a territorial battle against other male lions, and facing danger in the region. In their challenging swim, the lions faced hippos and crocodiles, which caused them to struggle not once, but twice, to cross the river. They set the record for the longest distance ever swam by lions.

Despite the common belief that big cats, including lions, do not typically enjoy swimming, scientists suggest that the lions swam across the river because of mating conditions. Recently, the number of lions in the park have declined drastically mainly due to human poisoning, which claimed the lives of at least 11 lions, most of which were female.

The ratio of male lions to female lions is two to one. This skewed ratio means that male lions greatly outnumber females. If the male lions cannot find suitable mates within the park, they may be forced to travel outside of the protected area in search of females to mate with. This movement could potentially disturb efforts driven by people in the park to stabilize and grow the lion population within the park.