Deceased

The Second Tsavo Man-Eater

Also known as FMNH 23969 · the crouching lion · The Last of the Tsavo Man-Eaters

? – 29 December 1898

Born in an unrecorded place

The second Tsavo man-eater was the brother of the first, and the last of the two maneless male lions who killed railway workers at the Tsavo River in Kenya in 1898. He is known today by his catalogue number at Chicago’s Field Museum, FMNH 23969, where he is the crouching lion of the pair. His teeth were in better condition than his brother’s, and scientists think he may have learned to hunt people through their partnership.

In March 1898 the British began building a bridge for the Uganda Railway over the Tsavo River in Kenya, with several thousand workers, most of them from India, camped along eight miles of line under the engineer Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson. For the next nine months two maneless male lions dragged workers from their tents at night. Thorn fences and fires did not stop them, hundreds of workers fled, and construction came to a halt. A 2024 DNA study confirmed the two were brothers.

After his brother was shot on 9 December 1898, he went on hunting near the camps. Patterson shot at him from a platform near a goat the lion had killed, and eleven days later hit him twice as the lion stalked him. The next day the wounded lion was found and, after six of nine shots from three rifles had struck him, killed on 29 December 1898. Patterson wrote that he died biting a fallen branch, still trying to reach him. A 2009 study estimated he had eaten the equivalent of about 10 people.

~10People eaten (2009 estimate)

9Shots fired at him

20Days he outlived his brother

1898Year he was shot

Profile

Identity

Name: The Second Tsavo Man-EaterKnown by his catalogue number
Nicknames: FMNH 23969; the crouching lion
Origin of the name: Known by his Field Museum catalogue numberHe was never given a name in life
Sex: Male
Distinguishing features: ManelessLess severe dental problems than his brother
Weight: Information not availableFor reference, adult male lions usually weigh 150–260 kg

Birth & Family

Born: Information not availableNot known; both were young to prime adult males in 1898
Birthplace: Information not availableNot known; the Tsavo region of Kenya
Birth pride: Information not available
Father: Information not available
Mother: Information not available
Siblings: His fellow man-eater (brother)Confirmed as brothers by DNA in 2024

Reign

Pride king: Not a pride male; one of two man-eating brothers
Prides ruled: Information not available
Pride size: Information not available
Reign: Nine months of attacks (March – December 1898)
Ruled with: His brother
Coalition: The Tsavo Man-Eaters
Home range: The Tsavo River and the railway camps around the bridge, Kenya
Territory size: Information not available

Death

Died: 29 December 1898Twenty days after his brother
Age at death: Information not availableNot known; an adult male
Cause of death: Shot by John Henry PattersonNine shots from three rifles, six of which struck him
Place of death: Tsavo, KenyaNear the railway camps
Burial: Information not availableNot buried: his skin was kept by Patterson as a rug for 25 years, then sold with his skull to the Field Museum, Chicago, in 1924; he is on display there

Names & Meanings

FMNH 23969Catalogue number

His specimen number at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.

The Ghost or the DarknessFilm name

The 1996 film gave the pair these names; which lion is which is not defined.

The crouching lionMuseum name

For the pose of his mount at the Field Museum.

Family & Lineage

Not knownParentsWild lions of the Tsavo region; never identified.

FMNH 23969The second man-eater? – 29 Dec 1898

Brother · FMNH 23970The first man-eaterThe standing lion at the Field Museum. Shot on 9 December 1898.View record →

Not knownOffspringNo cubs are known.

Life Story

March 1898
Construction began on the railway bridge over the Tsavo River. Within days workers began disappearing from their tents.
1898
At first only one lion at a time entered the camps; later the brothers came together, each taking a victim.
Mid-1898
After a pause of several months, the attacks resumed, at times almost daily. Hundreds of workers fled and work stopped.
9 December 1898
His brother was shot and killed.
December 1898
Patterson fired at him from a platform over a goat he had killed; later hit him twice as he stalked Patterson.
29 December 1898
Found wounded and killed, after nine shots in all.
February 1899
With both lions dead, workers returned and the bridge was finished.
1924
His skin and skull were sold to the Field Museum, Chicago.
2009
Isotope study: he had eaten the equivalent of about 10 people.

Legend & Truth

The follower?

With healthier teeth, he had less reason to hunt people. Researchers suggest he may have learned it through his close bond with his brother; the 2024 DNA study found each lion’s hair in the other’s teeth, from grooming.

Died fighting

Patterson’s account of the lion dying while biting a branch to reach him is famous, but it is Patterson’s own telling and has not been independently confirmed.