Two male lions, Jacob (a three-legged lion who lost his foot to a poacher's trap) and his brother Tibu, swam across the 1.5-kilometer-wide and 20-feet deep Kazinga channel multiple times in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, after losing a territory battle.
This is believed to be the longest-recorded lion swim, surpassing the previous record of 0.96 kilometers in Lake Kariba on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border.
The lions faced challenges from hippopotamuses, Nile crocodiles, and the depth of the channel, but on their third or fourth try, they successfully swam across the channel.
The swim was filmed using a thermal camera and a drone by a research team led by Alexander Braczkowski.
Jacob, a resilient tree-climbing lion, has survived multiple near-death experiences and adapted to moving on three legs after losing one in a trap, supported by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Conservation biologists believe the lure of the lionesses drove Jacob and Tibu to cross the river, as lion experts agree that the lions would be motivated to find females across the channel.
Lions are not typically known for their swimming abilities, but instances of swimming shorter distances have been documented in regions like the Okavango Delta, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: Gizmodo, New York Times, Telegraph, NZ Herald, columbusmessenger.com.