Abstract
With recent advances, nuclear genome data for phylogenomic analyses can now be sequenced from minuscule quantities of DNA1 and from specimens that are more than a million years old.2 DNA analysis from hair is a well-established approach3 widely used in forensic science4 and wildlife conservation.5 Hairsamples can be effectively decontaminated6 and can be used to identify the mammalian speciesfrom which the hair was shed.7,8 We aimed to use advances optimized for degraded DNA to systematically identify dietary prey species from hair compacted in the teeth of two Tsavo lions that livedduring the 1890s in Kenya (see description of samples in the STAR Methods and Patterson9 andKerbis Peterhans and Gnoske10 for background on the Tsavo "man-eaters"). Analysis of hair DNA identified giraffe, human, oryx, waterbuck, wildebeest, and zebra as prey and also identified hair thatoriginated from lion. DNA preservation allowed for analyses of complete mitogenome profiles of zebra, giraffe, and lion. Giraffe mitogenomes are phylogeographically partitioned, and we found thatthe lions ate at least two individuals that belong to a subspecies of Masai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi tippelskirchi) typically found in southeast Kenya. The lion mitogenome from a hair sample was identical tothe Tsavo lion endogenous mitogenome and most closely matched other East African lions from Kenyaand Tanzania. Our approach enables a better understanding of the hunting behaviors, diets, and ecology of historical individuals, populations, and species and holds promise for extinct populations and species.
Published Version
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