I was there a couple of weeks ago, and I saw two males. The older one had a really huge mane which covered his shoulders and extended down his belly too............not like the regular African lion. He looked more like a Barbary, so I guess there must have been some cross - breeding done over the years, since there are no pure Barbary lions left (I think)
The other male had a much shorter mane and looked like a regular African lion, I think it's the same one in the photo above. I'm not sure if the short mane is due to the fact that he is still young or if he's a regular tawny lion.
You've got to admit, if they're trying to get a big mane they're not likely to have been trying to stick to bleyenberghi or krugeri (or whatever) - they'll have been looking for animals with big manes (or females with relatives with big manes). I don't think it's an unfair assumption that these are probably subspecific hybrids given that history.
Does anyone hve old pictures of African Lion Safari? Like from way back in the day? From what i've read, they had originally started with 40 lions in three game reserves, and it'd be cool to see those pictures. I've only seen a couple in their guide book.
