Nebraska Reportable Disease List: Fill & Download for Free

See this map;See all the red areas. Those are the places where people were not practicing social distancing last week. Living life as usual and acting like nothing was wrong.Covid-19 is in all of those areas. The numbers are low now but Covid-19 is a stealthy virus. People typically become infectious within 3–5 days of infection and if their symptoms are mild or nonexistent they are infectious for up to 27 days. People who have serious cases typically don’t show up in a hospital for 12–14 days after being infected. This virus really spreads beneath the surface and then flares up with massive numbers of sick and dying people.The John’s Hopkins Coronavirus map shows how the virus is spreading across the country along the interstate highways and the state highways and roads. Everyplace there is a gas station or an open diner is seeing cases show up. Once it gets into an area it will start spreading, the only question is “how fast” or “how slow”. If people in your area, are really good about practicing social distancing, it will be a slow burn of cases and your local hospitals might be able to handle the load. If social distancing fails then the health care system in your area is probably going to become dysfunctional for awhile.Right now, the areas that people were moving around “like normal” are about 30 days behind where New York is now. The dying from this has barely started. There is no possible way this is going to be over by Memorial Day.Update April 8thHere are two additional maps indicating how the virus is spreading across rural America.This is the reported cases by county on March 26th, the same week that the map above measured people’s cell phone locations to assess where people were staying at home and moving around.The orange counties in Idaho, Utah, and Colorado all represent outbreaks in counties with skiing resorts. A ski event in Idaho earlier in the month resulted in more than a hundred attendees and dozens of health care workers falling ill.This next map shows the number of reported cases April 6th, 10 days later.As you can see, Covid-19 is spreading rapidly across rural America. The coronavirus has officially reached more than two-thirds of the country’s rural counties, with one in 10 reporting at least one death.With 42 states now urging people to stay at home, the last holdouts are the Republican governors of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Arkansas. Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota has suggested that the stricter measures violated personal liberties, and she said her state’s rural character made it better positioned to handle the outbreak.Coronavirus illnesses and deaths are still overwhelmingly concentrated in cities and suburbs, and new rural cases have not exploded at the same rate as in some cities. But they are growing fast. This week, the case rate in rural areas was more than double what it was six days earlier.Keep in mind that there is a 10–14 day lag between people getting infected and showing up in a clinic or hospital. After they are tested (if they are tested, the testing kit shortage is still acute) there can be up to a 10 day wait to get results. So, these numbers actually represent a snapshot of what was happening in rural counties about 3 weeks ago.What that means is that cases in rural counties are likely to soar for the next 10–14 days before the widespread adoption of social distancing and business closures begins to show up in the curves. A case study of the virus’s spread is Mangum, Okla., a town of 6,000 in the western part of the state. In Mangum, it all started with a visit. A pastor from Tulsa appeared at a local church, but got sick shortly thereafter and became the state’s first Covid-19 fatality.Then somebody at the local church started to feel unwell — a person who eventually tested positive for coronavirus.“Then it was just a matter of time,” said Mangum’s mayor, Mary Jane Scott. Before realizing they were infected, several people who eventually tested positive for the virus had moved about widely through the city, including to the local nursing home, which now has a cluster of cases.Over all in the town, there are now three deaths and 26 residents who have tested positive for the coronavirus — one of the highest infection rates in rural America.A number of the comments posted have suggested that the physical distances and low population density found in many rural counties would prevent Covid-19 from gaining a foothold in these areas. The data indicates that this may have been wishful thinking. What is needed now is a massive surge of federal support into these areas. Because, while these areas may not have the number of cases and deaths per 100,000 that are being measured in urban areas, the healthcare resources are often minimal. Only 10% of America's doctors practice in a rural area. They are about to be overwhelmed.The WH Coronavirus model may be indicating that the death toll is likely to be less than expected but a lot of that is due to the success of the “shelter in place” policies in CA, WA, and NY which seem to be working. It is starting to look like fewer people may die than the “worst case” numbers of a few weeks ago but this is hardly over. All of the places that were slow to adopt lockdown and shutdown policies are just starting to see the ramp up in cases and deaths. Plus, locations that ease up and try to “reopen for business” may see the virus come surging back.So, even with the hopeful numbers in the estimated final projected deaths I still do not think this is going to be over by Memorial Day.FINAL UPDATE: April 27thThis will be my last update on this question because in a few more weeks the answer will be obvious to everyone.Amazingly, there are people who think that we are almost finished with the Covid-19 pandemic. Vice President Mike Pence said he thinks the U.S. coronavirus outbreak could be over by the nation’s Memorial Day holiday on May 25.“I truly do believe that if we all continue to do that kind of social distancing and other guidance broadly from federal and state officials, that we’re going to put this coronavirus in the past,” Pence said on Geraldo Rivera’s radio show this past Friday. “I believe by early June we’re going to see our nation largely past this epidemic.”It’s not clear what data this statement is based on but it reflects the fervent hopes and desires of millions of Americans who have shelter at home fatigue and are in economically dire straits. In state after state, Governors have decided to act as if this is true and begin reopening their states for business. Although they universally have piously stated, “that anyone who doesn't feel safe should stay home”. The reality is that once the statewide shelter at home orders are lifted workers will not be eligible for unemployment benefits if their employer reopens and calls them back to work. Which means that for millions of Americans in those states the choice will be between staying home with no government assistance or risking infection for a job and a paycheck.So, what’s really likely to happen. Is this going to be over by Memorial Day?Lets look at the state of Georgia. Their governor was very slow to impose a “shelter at home” mandate and, in his plan to reopen businesses this week, is being very aggressive about getting people back to work. Is this decision justified? This map of the continuing spread of Covid-19 in the state would seem to indicate that it is not:Clearly, Covid-19 has spread to almost every county in the state over the last six weeks. Covid-19 is not “contained” in the state of Georgia, it is everywhere. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, the rate of new infections has also not declined;Which means that social distancing practices in Georgia have still not reached the level required to “flatten the curve” and bring down the daily number of new infections. Experts have argued that the target for relaxing statewide shutdowns should be about 20 new daily cases for every million residents. This is regarded as a “controllable” level that won’t force a state back into shut down mode. Over the past week, Georgia has had an average daily rate of 74 new cases per million residents.Governor Kemp’s rush to reopen is especially puzzling given that Georgia was one of the first states to have a “super-spreader” incident of the coronavirus. On Feb. 29, hundreds of people gathered in the city of Albany to remember Andrew Jerome Mitchell, a retired janitor. In the following weeks, it became clear that someone at the funeral had been a carrier of coronavirus. Entire families fell ill and dozens died as the infection spread through the area. In some of the counties surrounding Albany, almost as many people have died from coronavirus since mid-March as died from heart disease, cancer and all other causes combined over the same period in 2018.Even worse is the growing realization of what are the mortality risk factors for Covid-19. While public health officials and researchers still haven’t nailed down exactly how underlying conditions can make Covid-19 infections more dangerous, studies have pointed out the large numbers of gravely ill patients with underlying health problems. The Georgia Department of Public Health in fact lists diabetes and heart and lung disease as potential risk factors for dying of Covid-19.Georgia looks like a giant hotspot on maps of all three of those conditions, with communities in the southern part of the state showing especially high incidence rates. The state ranks 19th in share of adults with lung disease, 15th in heart disease, and roughly 1 in 8 have diabetes;If Covid-19 continues it’s spread throughout the state thousands will be risking infection and possible death in the next month.Many have argued, “my body, my choice” and tried to spin this as an issue of “personal freedom”. However, Covid-19 is extremely infectious. It is becoming more and more clear that it is at least as infectious as smallpox and possibly as infectious as measles, some of the most infectious viruses known. If you work in an enclosed environment long enough, with someone who is infected, you almost certainly will get infected. Masks will slow it down but for something this infectious they will not stop it. Unless you are in full protective gear (face shield, mask, gloves, and gown) if you are exposed to enough Covid-19 carriers you will get infected.Covid-19’s “best case” mortality rate is about 0.5% or five times worse than the flu. Which makes it much deadlier. I want to emphasize that this is a new virus and we know very little about it and conversely the virus knows nothing about us. We are a completely new host for it and it is showing itself to be a “rough beast” of a virus. It attacks the human body in a lot of ways. Here’s a graphic I found in Science showing the various ways the virus can affect a person:I have noticed that there is a certain amount of fatalism among people under 40 that their odds of dying from the virus are low. So perhaps it is better to get it and be done with it, rather than practice social distancing and accept the changes in their lifestyle that causes (no sports, no restaurants, no movies, etc). With so little known about the virus this is really dangerous thinking. Maybe you have a “mild” case and don’t even notice it, but maybe you are unlucky and have a serious case that causes you permanent lung damage. We don’t know what the real risks of this virus are now and over time. You could be “fine” for months and then drop dead from a massive stroke because a recurrence of the virus caused a blood clot six months later. Do you really want to be a Guinea pig?So, what’s likely to happen in Georgia between now and Memorial Day? Despite what VP Pence and Governor Kemp say I don’t think there is any possible scenario where this is over and in the rear view mirror by then. I think there is going to be a massive uptick in new cases and deaths in Georgia and in all of the other states that are loosening restrictions and prodding people to “get back to work” right now. In a few weeks we will know.

Yes. And Bigly. But for me, it was a process.Okay… here’s Trump entering Marine One, being whisked away to Walter Reed Hospital. Initially, Trump tweeted that he had voluntarily decided to go to the hospital for observation. Does that sound like Trump? Maybe… he’s making a statement, calling the shots. But Melania got to stay in the White House. If he was just faking it, why got to Walter Reed? It’s well known that Trump is somewhere between afraid of and freaked out by hospitals.But later it came out that he was basically being forced to go by the White House medical staff. That lends credibility to the idea that Trump’s really sick. And sure, if I was faking it, I’d probably come up with a bunch of really mundane happenings to sell the idea. But to Trump, caving in to his doctors demands? That’s showing weakness. I don’t think he’d choose that as part of a “Reality Show COVID-19 Attack”.Next, we’ve got his medical staff. Yeah, they were awful on camera… if they weren’t technically lying, they were ducking questions like Kwai Chang Kane ducked punches. And one of these guys went on the air a day later and apologized for being evasive. If you’re going to create a conspiracy, you do need to set limits, or it won’t hold. If one doctor who’s name you could never trace went on-camera to talk about Trump, that would be signalling us it’s a fake. When a bunch of actual identified Walter Reed doctors appear on-camera, I’m betting they believe what they’re saying… or hiding.They also didn’t do the diversion thing. When Trump operatives are on camera as surrogates, they usually minimize the question asked, but then fire back with distractions. And they’re better at it than actual paid doctors. The fact was, these guys demeanor was sketchy — the weren’t comfortable obfuscating the information that we citizens have the right to know. They came back in a later interview and apologized for being evasive, but claimed it was in the interest of the patient. It’s also the case that, under HIPPA Law, Trump’s actual doctors can’t say anything about his state without his explicit permission.Next up, Trump and his superspreader events, er… rallies. Would Trump seriously choose to give up holding rallies for two weeks? Perhaps, if he were absolutely convinced that doing so would win him another term as President, but I think that’s about it. He loves the crowds, he loves the attention, he loves being able to air his many grievances in front of a responsive crowd. I don’t think he would give this up if he had any say in the matter.And finally, there’s the ghost of Fred Trump. Fred Trump was actually all those things that Donald Trump tried to be but wasn’t. Okay, sure, he was also a crook (as Mary Trump wrote, “Fraud was not just the family business - it was a way of life”), but he was good at it. He carried Donald along, allowing him to be more of the public face of the Trump Organization, while Fred was the brains… until he lost his mind.According to Mary Trump, Donald was raised very harshly under Fred. And one thing he was taught stands out here: sickness and disease is an unacceptable weakness. Trump and much of the family believe that if you get sick, it’s your fault, because you’re weak. “That’s why we’re in the horrible place we’re in, because he cannot admit to the weakness of being ill or of other people being ill,” Mary Trump said in an interview with NPR.This does explain so much. Trump could downplay the pandemic because, in his mind, that’s a thing that only happens to the weak. He was trying to leave Walter Reed Hospital for two days, and finally did yesterday, despite, far as it’s known, having a full blown case of COVID-19, because, again, Trump views being in the hospital as a weakness, and in particular, a weakness in full public view. Once back at the White House, they have what’s essentially an ICU Step-Down Unit… it’s not like you or I “going home,” other than, as with other homes, what goes on there will remain more private than it did at Walter Reed.And hey, I do agree that there seems to be no low-enough point with Trump, and if he really felt faking COVID-19 would benefit his chances to win the election, maybe he’d consider it, despite the weakness it clearly displays, at least to anyone raised Trump. So why not follow the other data points?So as far as they’re dropping or, mostly, leaking breadcrumbs, it was Hope Hicks, officially listed as “counselor to the president,” who was first down with the ‘Rona. She was feeling ill on Wednesday after the first Presidential “Debate” and tested positive on Thursday.So while she had plenty of contact with Trump and other Administration officials during the week, presented symptoms on Wednesday morning, and was diagnosed on Thursday, the White House kept it quiet. Trump himself wasn’t feeling well on Wednesday evening. Still, Trump attended a private fundraiser and then a maskless rally (outdoors at the airport) in Duluth, MN on Wednesday. Then on Thursday, after Hicks’ results were back, a fundraiser at his golf club in Jersey.So how did we know about Hope Hicks? A reporter from Bloomberg got a tip, did the research, and published the story. In other words, via a leak. The White House didn’t make an announcement… you’d think, if this was all a conspiracy, they just might have. It was the right thing to do, particularly in the interest of contact tracing for all those who had been around Hicks over the past 3–5 days when she might have been shedding virus.It is suspected that the event for his SCOTUS nomination, held in the White House Rose Garden, may have been at least in part a superspreader event. While some of the attendees were also part of Trump’s “debate” preparation, many of those who seem to have contracted COVID-19 on the same timeline have only this event in common.So far, as well as various Trump people testing positive, Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have both tested positive. And several others in Congress, including Senators Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Ted Cruz of Texas, have so far tested negative but are currently quarantining for 14 days as a precaution. Unrelated to the Rose Garden event, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson also tested positive a day or so after this event.So think about it… that event is the prelude to the Right’s wildest dream, stacking the Supreme Court with an unbreakable majority of conservative judges. And Mitch McConnell had his tiny, dusty, withered old heart set on voting for Amy Coney Barrett with as little actual discussion and debate as possible, prior to the election. And while they may yet manage that, they’re not going to have to cut it even closer. And in fact, since the Senate does require physical presence for voting, are other Senators, currently on a break back home, really going to rally back to a COVID-19 infested Washington D.C. for that last-minute vote? In short, this is going against all of their nefarious plans. A conspiracy is supposed to help you get what you want, not prevent it. And sure, there’s still time after the election, as unprecedented as that is… but hey, no SCOTUS vote ever took place during an actual election (aka, after citizens had started voting). The last time, of course, the Republicans blocked Obama’s appointee simply based on it being early in an election year.I almost missed this one! Trump arrived late for the Presidential Debate in Cleveland on Tuesday night. In fact, so late, he didn’t get the expected test that was supposed to be administered by the Cleveland Clinic, the world-class healthcare personnel put in charge of securing healthcare concerns at the debate. Did Trump already know, and pull the correct strings to arrive late enough to avoid the test?That also brings up a mystery. From what the White House says, everyone around Trump, and Trump himself, are constantly being tested. Much of this testing is using the Abbott ID NOW real-time RT-PCR test, run by a small machine they can take anywhere. The idea of all this testing was to build a “bubble” around the President and Administration — you had to get tested, over two days, to transition into the bubble from the outside. At least supposedly.So we had a President and staff getting tested all the time, perhaps every day or every other day, depending on their activities. The Abbott test runs about $5.00 a test… it’s good money spent, at least if it worked better. There are questions about the accuracy of the Abbott test, but they’re also using it in a way never intended. It’s not accurate enough to build a proper bubble.And yet, the White House is mum about Trump’s last test, prior to the overnight test that ultimately lead to Trump’s admission of his infection. Did he test negative before the debate, especially critical given his slide on testing at the debate? Did he test negative before going to a fundraiser and rally on Wednesday? Did he test negative before going to another fundraiser on Thursday? I mean, for a guy who’s tested nearly every day, going ~4 days sounds suspicious. Is this really what a cleverly designed conspiracy around a fake infection would do?Another data point: former governor Chris Christie also tested positive for the coronavirus. Christie was at the Rose Garden event and working on debate prep with Trump. So he was certainly sharing the COVID crosshairs with Trump and the rest of those deplorables.As a guy with asthma and who’s even more morbidly obese than Trump, he did a very unusual thing: he checked himself into a hospital in Jersey. That ought to raise eyebrows, because that’s not something anyone really does. At the time anyway, he was experiencing only mild symptoms, and if anyone of us had tried that, we’d likely have been sent home. So to me, this sounds like the real deal: here’s a guy who’s got a huge reason to expect his comorbidities could lead to a very bad case of COVID-19, he’s afraid for his life, and he doesn’t have a hospital unit in his house. If he was faking it, why not do the usual thing of resting at home, then getting rushed to the hospital? As well, if Christie walked into a hospital and was known to be faking it, I’m pretty sure we’d have had a leak about that. He’s not all that popular in Jersey these days.Another reason I do believe this is that Kellyanne Conway is also infected. But rather than make a public announcement, she was outed by her daughter Claudia Conway, who’s got a large following on TikTok. Claudia posted about Kellyanne’s positive tests (she took three, first one negative, second two positive) a few days after Trump’s announcement. And a few days later, Claudia posted that she had contracted it from her mother.At this point, I’d trust that fifteen-year-old’s posts over anything directly out of the Trump Administration. Trump may not always lie, but if you check his tally on Politifact, more than half of the time he’s speaking, he’s telling flat-out lies.And more recently, we’ve learned that Barron Trump tested positive, at least according to White House sources. Is there any political advantage whatsoever in announcing that the absolutely stupid behavior of a child’s parents put that child at serious risk to his health? Again, based on the untrusted source of information that is today’s White House, the child is okay, and I honestly hope so. That doesn’t make it any less irresponsible.And here’s the question I have after a little reflection… let’s once again go back to Trump’s testing regime. We still don’t know exactly when his last negative test was, and given the frequency of his testing, we have absolutely no real idea when his first positive test was. We do know that they announced that he tested positive on October 1, 2020. And the very next day, he was whisked away, against his wished, to Walter Reed Hospital.We know that Trump’s case wasn’t just a mild one, or it probably would have been kept quiet. There’s plenty of reason to believe that “COVID-19 in the White House” was being covered up, primarily because the original information about all came via leaks.That pretty much guarantees he was sick at the two fundraisers that week, sick at the rallies in Duluth and Harrisburg. He was almost certainly sick at the first Presidential debate. He was likely carrying the infection September 27th, while on his trip to his golf course and presser in Virginia, at the Gold Star families event later that day. And the day before, at the Rose Garden event for Amy Coney Barrett, often calculated to have been a superspreader event for much of the White House infection — the event he’s trying to blame for his illness. But that’s still only six days from Trump in ARDS, from what we know. He could have actually contracted it any time that previous week.And yes, Trump and his wife were reported as testing positive that Thursday, but we known nothing about the timeline of any previous positive tests. Or did Trump “feel sick” and reject any testing until it was getting bad? When were his two last negative tests? For a guy regularly tested multiple times a day, there’s so little information here, it suggests the answer is very, very bad. Bad enough to be a factor in the election, so they’re just not saying anything and hoping no one pokes that cat.As well, if Trump and his team were primarily relying on the Abbott test, there’s every chance Trump could have been infected a day or two before that test would yield a positive result. So it’s very, very important to understanding not just the course of Trump’s illness, but the level of his risky behavior and regard for other people.Read MorePresident Trump has COVID-19: A timeline of his travels leading up to a positive coronavirus testWhite House officials knew Hicks tested positive -- but Trump still traveled for a fundraiserTrump Reportedly Arrived to the Debate Too Late to Be Tested by OrganizersAmericans are relying on leaks for information about Trump's healthMary Trump says president sees illness as sign of 'unforgivable weakness'Who has tested positive for Covid-19 in the White House?The White House relied on a rapid test, but used it in a way it was not intended.As Problems Grow With Abbott’s Fast COVID Test, FDA Standards Are Under FireAbbott's Rapid COVID-19 Test Continues to Get Extra Scrutiny

Orcas.No, lions don’t eat orcas… but to get the answer, we will first go to orcas, then to science fiction, then finally to lions; which of course is the most logical path to answer this question.So, yeah… orcas. You remember seeing that video where those killer whales all line up, and then speed toward the ice floe, sending a big wave onto it, to knock off the seal that’s freakin’ out, sitting on top? [1]Well, those orcas are a specific group of whales (sub-order Odontoceti or “toothed whales”), a specific sub-species of whales, and they live in a specific place. What they are doing is called “wave washing”. It’s incredibly sophisticated, and these whales teach it to each other. But all orcas don’t do this, all over the world. So, we have to be careful about saying things like “This is how orcas hunt”. The truth is… “This is how these orcas hunt”. Different places, different circumstances, different orca groups… they hunt differently.Okay, so as promised, we’ll hop over to science fiction. Imagine some gigantic alien species comes to Earth and kidnaps a bunch of humans from Nebraska, USA, to take back to their kids on the planet Zorg, as pets. “Yay! What do they eat, Daddy?” The dad alien pulls out a huge sack of freeze-dried human food. A lifetime supply for the human pets. Flash forward 20 years, and let’s listen to what the “tiny” humans are saying in their cage, during feeding time. “AHH! Curried Chicken Korma! I can’t stand Curried Chicken Korma for 20 more years!”You see… the alien dad got what he thought humans ate; all humans. He had a lifetime supply of human food from a place called India. If you’ve ever had human pets, you know that they don’t all eat the same thing.And now, we can move to lion. Just like we’ve learned from the orcas, all lions don’t hunt the same way. As we learned from the aliens, all lions don’t eat the same things, either. The Earth is a big planet. Lions are in different places, under different circumstances, in different lion groups.I’ll tell you about some of these different places, circumstances and groups… and what and how they eat. For instance, there is a place in Tanzania that’s called the Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest intact and unfilled volcanic caldera, which is the crater that formed when a large volcano exploded and collapsed on itself two to three million years ago. It’s about 100 square miles. Here’s a picture of it: [2]A big circle, surrounded by the walls of the crater, all around. This kind of isolates it from the rest of Tanzania, and it’s a beautiful lush habitat for many of the most famous SE African animals; including Panthera leo leo (African lion), of course. The population of lions that lives and hunts here, has their own way of doing things. These guys might be called the Lion Mafia, because they have a pretty slick operation going on in this crater. Let me start by saying that all lions take advantage of their status as King of the Jungle (despite the fact they aren’t actually in the jungle), and they take food from whomever they want, whenever they want. Cheetahs, usually catch the brunt of this scam. But of course, lions do hunt on their own, as well. It’s just that when opportunity presents itself… they steal, using strong-arm tactics. The thing is… these particular Ngorongoro Crater lions take it to an extreme. It’s not the Cheetahs that suffer, though. In this isolated neighborhood, the victims of the lion mafia are… the Spotted Hyenas! These lions have no problem sending in Nick the Nose Lion and Louie Three Claws Lion to rough up the hyenas and take their fresh kill from them. All of it. Every time. No excuses and no back-talking. In fact, these lions have almost entirely quit traditional hunting, and rely almost exclusively on stealing from the hyenas! They have made it an art form. Researchers have found that whenever the hyena’s “I’ve killed something” sound is reproduced, anywhere within the crater, the lions come running! They will chase the sound daily, whenever they are hungry. The hell with hunting! Consistently robbing the hyenas is much more productive. Spotted Hyenas and Lions have always been direct competitors, for the same food, in the same areas. But in this crater, the lions have it figured out, but good! And nowhere else, does it happen to this same level of efficiency. So, what do these lions really eat? Anything that the hyenas kill for them.Let’s go to another place, to some different lions. But first let’s play a game. I’ll list a bunch of animals, and you try to guess which three of these are the least preyed upon by lions. Ready? Elephants, hippopotamuses, giraffes, wildebeests, wart hogs, zebras, buffalo, crocodiles, rhinoceroses, impalas and gazelles. Which three are least often found in a lion’s belly? I’ll give you one hint. This guy isn’t one of the three: [3]Although I will point out that lion claws have been found inside Nile Crocodile stomachs more than once. These two eat each other on a regular basis. Usually size is the determining factor.Okay, got your three? I’m guessing you’ll be mostly wrong. The answer is … the last three. Rhinoceroses, impalas and gazelles. There are certain lions that will take down elephants, hippos and crocs, before any of them mess with a rhino. I just watched a video of one rhino holding off seven very determined, hungry and organized lions. I can tell you the lions finally walked away hungry and exhausted after a very long constant mass attack. As far as the impalas and gazelles… they are just too damn fast! Most lions have no problem leaving those to their speedy cousins, the cheetahs.As I said… different lions, different circumstances. Over in Kruger National Park, giraffes are frequently hunted. Despite the deadly miles-long legs and sharp hooves of these sky-high, very heavy animals, the lions in this part of South Africa have developed a technique amongst themselves that makes them the most frequent and efficient giraffe-hunting lions in Africa.If we scoot over to a different part of Tanzania… Lake Manyara National Park… we’ll find that Cape Buffalo are by far the most common menu item for those local lions; simply because there are so many damn buffalo there! Hippo and wart hogs, round out the rest of the menu around Lake Manyara.On the Serengeti Plain in Kenya, it’s wildebeests and zebras that are preferred. Obviously, a completely different method is required to hunt a giraffe in South Africa, than is used to hunt hippos in Tanzania. And not all lions have mastered them all. They specialize, and have preferences.Lastly, we’ll go over to the Savuti River in Botswana… where quite an unusual situation has arisen. These lions have developed not only a taste for, but more importantly, a technique for hunting… elephants! Full grown elephants! Although this has occasionally happened everywhere there are both lions and elephants, a certain set of circumstances has led Botswanan lions to become very proficient elephant hunters. Some years ago, there was a particularly hungry time for all predators in the area, and lions began to risk hunting baby elephants regularly. It wasn’t long before they found a way to work together and bring down adults, usually at night, to take advantage of the elephant’s relatively poor night vision. [4]So, that’s what African Lions eat.Speaking of African Lions… it reminds me of the story where the mother of the kindergartener asked her son what he learned in school. He told her “We learned about a frickin’ elephant”. The mother was shocked that he was learning pre-swear words like this in school and went to visit the teacher. She then learned that a frickin’ elephant was actually African Elephant! Hahahaha!Okay, back to African Lions. Why do I keep saying African Lions? Well… because we haven’t even covered the Asiatic Lion! Yes, there is a Lion in Asia. Panthera leo persica (Asiatic lion). [5]Isn’t he gorgeous! And unlike the notoriously fake “Black Lion” that you see on the internet, this huge luxurious black mane is not photo-shopped. That’s the real deal. These Asiatic Lions are only found in one small area of India. Although African Lions number upwards of 30,000… As of 2017, Gir Forest in Gujarat is reported to have 650 individual Asiatic Lions, with ~240 cubs. Just a few years ago there were only 350 lions there. The population continues to fluctuate due to floods, disease and other things, but still… A true success story! And you can see below that the lions have been very busy making more lions, as one of the female prides brings their latest load of cubs to drink. [6]Congratulations to those responsible (this includes officials, local villagers who support this program and the amazing Lion Queens, the all-female team of Forrest Officers in charge of the park and lions: https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2016/03/gir-national-park-lion-queens/ ) for making this sanctuary possible, which was set up specifically for the Asiatic Lions to try to recover from near complete annihilation.They have a thicker coat, and a longer tail tassel than their African cousins. And they have a fascinating culture all their own. Their prides consist of female prides, and male prides. They remain separate except for mating, of course… which I assume happens on “date night!”They live in the forests and hillsides. Their diets are different. Their hunting style is different. Their social structure is different. They are quite unique, and quite endangered. Once again, mankind has done its best to do its worst on one of our most magnificent creatures. At least there are some dedicated Indians now doing their best to bring these big cats back from the brink. And what I can say is… “Thank you, Indians! Their population has slightly increased!” Hurray! They’ve come back from a historic low-point estimate of only 20 of these lions being left, in the entire world.So, there you go. What do lions reeeally eat? Well… just as a Nebraskan’s food isn’t typically Curried Chicken Korma… [7]… the answer is… it depends where, how and who.The only real constant is… given the motivation, and the opportunity… most of them will eat you.The main point here is that all animals are individuals. The groups that wild animals live in are their own families, their own societies. Local groups from one area have local skills, knowledge and behavior that will be different from groups in other areas. And there are many thing that simply can’t be applied to an entire species, no matter how much we learn about them, or think we know about them. They are unpredictable and each individual is a different thinking being. Just like us.IMAGE CITATIONS:[1] BBC Frozen Planet Attenborough's frozen planet[2] By Thomas Huston 2007 Ngorongoro Conservation Area - Wikipedia[3] Caters News Agency via Irish Mirror Lions vs crocodile[4] Camerawoman Justine Evans from crew of BBC America’s Planet Earth series.[5] Courtesy of Chester Zoo, 2009 Big Cats at Chester Zoo[6] Photo courtesy of About Gujarat. Gujarat tourism website.[7] Still, from La Planète sauvage animated at Jiří Trnka Studio in Prague.