The Real King of Forests

 

Common name-Barbery Lion

Scientific name- Panthera leo leo

Kingdom-Animalia

Phylum-Chordata

Class- Mammalia

Diet- Carnivore

Weight- 270 - 300kg

Height- 2.3 to 2.8 m

Lifespan- 10-15 yrs.

Habitat- North Africa from Morocco to Egypt

You all are shocked after seeing the name of Barbary lion in the extinct list. But yes,it is true because now which lions you all were see in some zoos, according to scientists study these lions were formed by cross breeding they are not pure Barbary lions. Because they were completely extinct near 1958.

Barbary lions were once native to North Africa, including the Atlas Mountains but are now extinct in the wild. They were also known as African lion,Atlas lion,Berber lion, Egyptian lion,Nubian lion and North African lion.It is regarded as the largest and the heaviest of all the lion subspecies.

They had dark, long-haired manes that extended over the shoulder and down to the belly. It is said that they developed the colors and size of their manes due to ambient temperatures, their nutrition, and their level of testosterone. Barbary lions may have developed long-haired manes because of the temperatures in the Atlas Mountains that are much lower than in other African regions, particularly in winter. 

The last known wild Barbary lion was shot in the Moroccan part of the Atlas Mountains in 1942.The last known sighting of a lion in Algeria occurred in 1956 in Beni Ourtilane District.Then after some years,they were disappeared from all regions.

They become extinct because by 19th and the early 20th century Barbary lions were often kept in hotels and circus menageries. It is said that the Romans used Barbary lions in the Colosseum to battle with gladiators. Thousands of these cats were slaughtered during the reign of Caesar. These lions were also kept in the menagerie at the Tower of London and were offered as gifts to royal families of Morocco and Ethiopia. That is the most important cause of extinction of this big cat.

It is believed that the only Barbary lions left in the world are now found in zoos and are part of a global and collaborative breeding programme to ensure their future survival but they are formed by cross breeding according to scientists but actually they were extinct near 1958.The Barbary lion probably died out in Morocco in 1948 and mostly likely went extinct in Algeria in 1958.