Individual hairs reveal prey of 19th-century man-eating lions [Video]

Two male lions became infamous for terrorizing and eating humans in 1898 during the construction of a railway bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya. Now, an innovative genetic analysis of hairs trapped inside the cavities of their broken teeth has revealed new insights into the prey the so-called Tsavo man-eaters once hunted.Video above: 5 Investigates: DNA technology used to identify remains found 60-feet underwaterThe harrowing true story of the lions, which raided tents in the camp at night and dragged victims into the thicket, has inspired movies and books over the years — and copious research to understand what drove them to prey on humans.The lions killed at least 28 people, including those working on the Kenya-Uganda Railway, beginning in April 1898 before civil engineer Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson shot the massive cats. Patterson then sold the lions’ remains in 1925 to Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, …