August 18, 2022 | Read Online

The Most-Feared Lions of All

The "Man-Eaters of Njombe" are estimated to have killed 1,500 people. They were so feared that while locals knew about them, they wouldn’t even mention their name.

There was a pack of lions that terrorized a region during the mid-20th century.

They were called the “Man-Eaters of Njombe” — and they’re estimated to have killed 1,500 people in southern Tanzania during their rampages from 1932-1947. They were so feared that while locals knew about them, they wouldn’t even mention their name out of concern it would summon their spirits.

The Njombe pride faced countless challenges.

The British colonial government was trying to control the spread of the Rinderpest virus, so it began killing off wild animals like zebras, wildebeest and antelope. With prey nearly impossible to find, some lion tribes began to die off from starvation.

Not the Njombe.

How did they survive and thrive for years? The used three key strategies:

1. Unconventional Thinking. Most lion packs moved throughout the night when it was easier to sneak up upon their prey. But the Njombe pride actually made their kills mostly during the day, instead using nights to move up to 20 miles to an unsuspecting village. They would even hit the same villages twice on occasion, something other lion packs typically avoided.

2. Resourcefulness. Because so many other animals had been poached to limit the spread of the virus, food options were hard to come by. But the Njombe pride didn’t let this limit them. They instead adapted and began eating people. They were smaller than most lions, but they were also faster and worked in multiple teams to find several targets and devour.

3. Creative Communication. The lions had to be unconventional to avoid detection and not immediately spook their targets. They’re believed to have used an intricate relay system to drag their targets into bushes before finishing them off. The exact methods are unknown, but it’s believed they passed bodies down some sort of a line — maximizing efficiency and letting them stay hidden for as long as possible.

As leaders, we’ll all be up against it at some point. We’ll face hardships, resources will be cut off, our jobs and careers may even be threatened.

For many teams, doubt and infighting will take over and make the adversity too much to bear.

But while lots will capitulate to their circumstances, a select few will thrive.

The Njombe beg some questions of us:

How can we compete in an unfair game? How can use our present adversity to bring us closer as a team? What are some unconventional strategies we can apply to give ourselves the best chance at survival?

The Njombe pride were eventually eliminated in large part by famed British hunter George Rushby, but they lasted far longer than they ever should have, leaving behind a ferocious legacy of aggression, resilience and adaptability.

What will our legend be?