North African Lion Fact Sheet
Common Name: North African Lion, Barbary Lion
Scientific Name: Panthera leo leo
Wild Status: Extinct
Habitat: Forests, hills, mountains, plains
Country: Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Libya
Shelter: Forests
Life Span: Unknown
Size: 10ft long
Details
Present in Roman history and Biblical tales, the Barbary Lion had a reputation as an enormous and vicious creature with a giant mane. Much of their personality and history are, however, exaggerated. This overblown persona made them targets for human hunters, looking to keep their ever expanding territories safe, leading to the extinction of the Barbary Lions. In the wild, they were social mammals who lived in prides, much like the lions of today. They resided in mountainous and hilly areas and often took shelter in forests. Being carnivorous predators, they relied on instinct and teamwork to take down prey such as gazelles. Their fate has often been tied to that of humans who had the ability to catch and control them. The decline of Barbary Lions remains to this day a curious topic for researchers, with efforts being made to locate the purest specimens.
Cool Facts
• Lions were used as tax payments or lavish gifts. This caused royal families of Morocco to house many Barbary Lions, which eventually made their way to zoos across the world. • These lions are believed to have gone extinct in the 20th century. This would make them one of the most recent extinctions • They are said to have fought gladiators in the Roman empire. The lions present in the Bible are also believed to be Barbary Lions • Many zoos have claimed to have "the last Barbary Lion", however DNA testing has shown these lions are often mixed with other species • Not limited to deserts and savannas, they were often found in forests near mountains • The last Barbary Lion is thought to have been shot in 1942, although some may have survived until the 1960s
Taxonomic Breakdown
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Suborder: Feliformia Family: Felidae Subfamily: Pantherinae Genus: Panthera Species: P. leo Subspecies: P. l. leo
Conservation & Helping
This species of lion has been considered extinct for decades. Few specimens remain but they are not pure Barbary lions, making conservation impossible. The biggest factor in their extinction is extermination by humans, driven by paid bounties. Deforestation, desertification, and human expansion also negatively impacted their living spaces and food sources.
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