South African researchers identify 70,000-year-old lion tracks with San trackers’ help
A team from Nelson Mandela University, with expert San trackers from Namibia, has identified fossilised lion tracks on South Africa's southern Cape coast, dating back about 70,000 years. These tracks provide rare evidence of Ice Age large felids in the region, which no longer hosts lions in the wild. This discovery is unique in southern Africa and contributes to understanding Pleistocene fauna along the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain.
Brève Publié le (Africa/Lagos, UTC+1)
Fossilised lion tracks dating back approximately 70,000 years have been discovered on the southern Cape coast of South Africa, according to research led by the African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience at Nelson Mandela University.
The tracks were identified through a collaboration between paleontologists and expert San trackers from Namibia’s Kalahari desert, whose indigenous knowledge was crucial in confirming the presence of large felids from the Pleistocene Epoch.
This finding is significant as lions no longer inhabit this region, and these are the only known fossilised lion tracksites in southern Africa, with just one other site reported in Tanzania across the continent.
The tracks were found on the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain, a vast habitat exposed during periods of lower sea levels between 400,000 and 70,000 years ago, which supported diverse large mammals.
The research highlights the value of integrating indigenous tracking expertise with scientific methods to better understand ancient ecosystems and animal behavior during the Ice Age in Africa.