Swimming illustrates the physical strength of animals, but at the same time it is an indicator of a deeper problem — males are forced to take extreme risks to find lionesses. A long-term study in the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda shows that the sex ratio among lions prevails towards males in a ratio of 2:1. Instead, female individuals predominate in a healthy lion population. Observing the males almost daily, the field team noticed that they swim through this channel seven times a year.
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Scientists suggest that lions make risky swims, fighting with crocodiles and hippos to find females. But they do not always succeed, and when they are beaten by local males, they return to their own territory. There is also another unlikely version — lions arrange swims to avoid contact with humans.
