Great Cats- Female Barbary Lions. I'm not too favorable to their exhibit but it's of decent size and habitat. The concrete walls and steps are what bother me. Of course, I grew up visiting the Bronx Zoo year after year so many good exhibits seem not as good to me (especially tiger exhibits).
The zoo lists them as Barbary Lions (Panthera Leo Leo). Mabye the ranch in South Africa raised both South African and Barbary Lions. Most likely these are a mix of both. The zoo says their male is the most geneticly pure of his subspecies so, if anything, he's probably a pure Barbary Lion (or as pure as they can be these days. All Barbary Lions, today, have parts of other lion subspecies in them anyway so, yes, these are hybrids).
Panthera leo leo is a catchall term used for all African lions. Barbary Lions are extinct. All specimens of claimed "Barbaries" turned out to be generic Africans. African lion systematics/taxonomy is undergoing some revision right now it seems with several populations now deemed to be separate (West African, Abyssinian).
Panthera leo leo is a catchall term used for all African lions. Barbary Lions are extinct. All specimens of claimed "Barbaries" turned out to be generic Africans. African lion systematics/taxonomy is undergoing some revision right now it seems with several populations now deemed to be separate (West African, Abyssinian).
Whenever something is questionable, you or Chlidonias come and give us a 100% fact. It's like you guys like to show off your knowledge (but that just shows off your age)