Barbary lion
The Barbary lion (Panthera leo leo) was a local group of lions which are now extinct in the wild {IUCN}. The Barbary lion was also called the atlas lion and the nubian lion. It was a local group, or perhaps subspecies, of the lion. It used to live in North Africa, from Morocco to Egypt.
| Barbary lion | |
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| A Barbary lion from Algeria, 1893 | |
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| Panthera leo leo (Linnaeus, 1758)
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Looks and behavior
The Barbary lion was large and heavy. Males weighed about [convert: %s]%s, and females weighed about [convert: %s]%s. Male lions were said to be about 2.7 to 3.1 metres (8 ft 10 in to 10 ft 2 in) long and females were about 2.1 to 2.7 metres (6 ft 11 in to 8 ft 10 in) long.[1] Some scientists think that these sizes and weights are too large. These scientists think that the Barbary lion is probably the size of the lions found in East Africa.[2]
The places where the Barbary lion lived did not have a lot of prey. These lions did not live in prides because of this.[3][4] The main animals they hunted in the Atlas Mountains were the Barbary stag and the gazelle. The lions also ate cows and sheep raised by people.[5]
These lions lived alone, or in pairs. The female Barbary lion raised her cubs until they were mature. This took about two years. After that, the cubs left their mother.[5]
Barbary Lion Media
A Barbary lion in the Bronx Zoo, 1897
Map shows range of P. l. leo and P. l. melanochaita
The last photograph of a wild lion in the Atlas Mountains, taken by Marcelin Flandrin in 1925
This detail of a map by Jan Janssonius (1588-1664) shows the former "Barbary Coast" of North Africa, known in the 17th century as Barbaria, now covered by Algeria.
Painting of a lion hunt in Morocco by Eugène Delacroix, 1855, in the Hermitage Museum
Sources
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Wikispecies has information on: Panthera leo leo. |
- ↑ "Barbary Lion". tigerhomes.org. 1999–2006. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
- ↑ Patterson, Bruce D. (2004). The lions of Tsavo: exploring the legacy of Africa's notorious man-eaters. McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-07-136333-4.
- ↑ "barbarylion.com". barbarylion.com. 2005. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
- ↑ A pride of lions is a family group. It usually includes a male lion, several female lions, and their cubs.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.barbarylion.com/Barbary_Lions.htm/