These Magnificent Lions May Be Descendants of Barbary Lion

The Barbary lion also known as the Atlas lion or Nubian lion was long considered one of the biggest lion subspecies, or even the largest of lions and African felidae.
They had the “most luxuriant and extensive manes” amongst lions.
The most distinctive feature of Barbary lions was that males had very dark and long-haired manes that extended over the shoulder and under the belly.
Now it is believed Barbary lions may have developed long-haired manes, because of temperatures in the Atlas Mountains that are much lower than in other African regions, particularly in winter.
Records indicate that the last Barbary lion was shot in the Moroccan part of the Atlas Mountains in 1942 though remnant populations may have survived into the early 1960s in remote areas.
Nonetheless, genes of the Barbary lion are likely to be present in common European zoo lions, since this was one of the most frequently introduced subspecies.
Therefore, many lions in European and American zoos, which are managed without subspecies classification, are in fact partly descendants of Barbary lions.
Sultan of Morocco had his own private stock of Atlas (barbary) lions. In 1912, these lions were moved from an original captive location near the Atlas Mountains to a lion garden at the Royal Palace in Rabat.
In 1953, the lions were moved to two zoos, but in 1955, 17 were returned to the Palace. Again In 1973, their descendants were moved to Rabat zoo at Temara.
"There is strong circumstantial evidence, therefore, that the animals at Rabat zoo were a relic from the original Barbary lions collected from the wild," say experts.
Conservationists have created a stud book detailing every descendant of a group of lions once owned by the Sultan of Morocco.
In 2006, mtDNA research revealed that a lion specimen kept in the German Neuwied Zoo originated from the collection of the King of Morocco and is very likely a descendant of a Barbary lion.
DNA tests on 15 of the 20 Ethiopian lions kept in Addis Ababa Zoo have revealed that they form a separate genetic group from the lions of east Africa and southern Africa.
They are the direct descendants of a group of seven males and two females taken from the wild in 1948 for Haile Sellassie's own zoo.
A comparison with other populations of wild lions living in the Serengeti of Tanzania in east Africa and the lions of the Kalahari Desert of South-West Africa found that the Addis Ababa lions are quite separate genetically.
Since 2005, Belfast Zoo has kept 3 alleged adult Barbary lions, transferred from Port Lympne Wild Animal Park.
In partnership with Panthera.org, Belfast Zoo opened a new Barbary lion habitat in 2023.
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