By: Emily Ao

Back in February, two male lions made history when they completed a long swim across a crocodile infested river in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda. According to the New York Times article, “Why a 3-Legged Lion and His Brother Swam Across a Crocodile-Filled River,” the two lions had previously injured themselves while fighting with other lions for territory. After they lost, it obviously wasn’t a good idea for them to stay, as they were terribly hurt. In addition to that, after the female lion population dropped at the park, their side of the bank was not ideal for survival.

The only available option to escape their looming problem was to swim across the nearly-a-mile-long river to the opposite bank. There, they had the possibility of finding mates and territory. However, there was one big problem: the river was infested with not just large crocodiles, but also a large population of hippos.

Stuck between life or death, the two lions chose the former. After two unsuccessful attempts to swim across, the two finally made it on the third; this was the first time such a long feline journey was recorded. Previously, there had been many anecdotes and records of these large felines swimming, though only for short distances.

Researchers had been following the two lions since 2017, and hypothesized about the lions swimming across the banks multiple times. Despite this, no recorded evidence could be obtained until this recent occurrence.

The willingness of the two to swim across such dangerous waters is a sign that the species population decline can bring us many problems, researchers say. In these conditions, it’s hard to tell what the future of the lions holds. All we can do is hope things don’t take another wrong turn.