Two Brother Lions Make Record-Breaking Swim in Treacherous Waters

Jacob and his brother Tibu have made a record-breaking swim across the predator-infested waters of the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda. This treacherous move was inspired by a desperate search for female lions. Unbelievably, one of the lions has only three legs.

The nearly mile-wide (915-meter) channel connecting two lakes is filled with high densities of hippos and Nile crocodiles. To add to the risk, researchers believe this to be the longest documented swim by lions. Previous swims by African lions have ranged from 10 to a few hundred meters.

This dramatic swim was captured by high-definition heat-detection cameras set on drones by Dr. Alexander Braczkowski and his team from Griffith University. They have been conducting a long-term study of African lions and other predators in Ugandan National Parks.

A little about Jacob the cat with nine lives

Jacob is not this ordinary African lion. He has earned recognition for surviving numerous life-threatening situations, including losing part of his leg to a poaching trap, being gored by a buffalo, and having his family poisoned in an attempt to obtain lion body parts for use in illicit trade.

“The fact that he and his brother Tibu have managed to survive as long as they have in a national park that has experienced significant human pressures and high poaching rates is a feat in itself,” Dr Braczkowski said.

It is not understood how Jacob and his brother Tibu managed to cross the deadly channel with fearsome predators. A Nile crocodile can weigh up to four times more than a male lion. Their powerful jaws and strong sharp teeth makes them formidable to any opponent including a lion.

Why did Jacob and his brother take this risk?

Dr Braczkowski explains, “It’s likely the brothers were looking for females,”

“Competition for lionesses in the park is fierce and they lost a fight for female affection in the hours leading up to the swim, so it’s likely the duo mounted the risky journey to get to the females on the other side of the channel,” he adds.

Earlier, Braczkowski’s team witnessed Jacob and Tibu enter into two fierce fights with other male lions who were attempting to drive them out of their territory. In this incident, Jacob took the brunt of the damage but Tibu managed to drive the other lions away from his brother.

According to a Braczkowski report documenting early warnings of pressure on an African lion population, the ratio of male to female lions within the park is significantly dropping. He said, “In healthy lion populations sex ratios are 2 females for every male, in Queen Elizabeth (it’s) the opposite”.

The dramatic crossing

Jacob and Tibu approached the channel and shortly they made the first attempt to cross the treacherous waters but they returned to the shore. The second attempt also failed and in about 15 minutes the brothers were captured taking their third try which led to a successful crossing.

In their second attempt, the footage captured by Cape Town videographer Luke Ochse showed a thermal signature trailing the brothers which may have been a crocodile or a hippo in pursuit.

“It was pretty dramatic,” Braczkowski narrates to the New York Times. 

It took them about 45 minutes to cross the channel. There is a small bridge connecting the two sides of the river and it was not clear why the lions opted to take the longest and dangerous route. Perhaps they were deterred by human traffic on the bridge.

Final take

Lions generally don’t like to swim. Those who have been observed swimming rarely go more than 150 feet. Jacob and his brother Tibu have set the record for what the researchers call the longest swim ever taken by lions. Researchers describe their findings in a peer-reviewed Ecology and Evolution journal.