"A genetically distinct lion (Panthera leo) population from Ethiopia"

[Surroundx]

This is still doing rounds in the media, although the journalistic license involved seems to have reached new heights:

"New species of lion discovered with an extravagant dark mane"

New species of lion discovered with an extravagant dark mane | MNN - Mother Nature Network

 

[Shoe Bill]

Two interesting papers on Barbary lions (altough also no free acces for everyone):
Urgent call for further breeding of the relic zoo population of the critically endangered Barbary lion (Panthera leo leo Linnaeus 1758) - Springer
Maintaining the genetic health of putative Barbary lions in captivity: an analysis of Moroccan Royal Lions - Springer

Another paper on the Addis Abeba lions:
Phenotypic and reproductive characteristics of lions (Panthera leo) at Addis Ababa Zoo - Springer

 

[Surroundx]

Hi Shoe Bill,

Thank you very much for your links to those papers. Luckily I have managed to find each of those three papers free online! As follows:

Burger, Joachim and Hemmer, Helmut. (2006). Urgent call for further breeding of the relic zoo population of the critically endangered Barbary lion (Panthera leo leo Linnaeus 1758). Eur. J. Wildl. Res. 52(1): 54–58.

Black, Simon et al. (2009). Maintaining the genetic health of putative Barbary lions in captivity: an analysis of Moroccan Royal Lions. Eur. J. Wildl. Res. 56(1): 21-31.

Tefera, Melaku. (2003). Phenotypic and reproductive characteristics of lions (Panthera leo) at Addis Ababa Zoo. Biodiversity and Conservation 12(8): 1629–1639.

If anybody needs help accessing any these papers feel free to PM me your email address and the paper/s wanted and I shall send them to you.

 

[Surroundx]

Yamaguchi, Nobuyuki. (2000). The Barbary lion and the Cape lion: their phylogenetic places and conservation. African Lion Working Group News 1: 9-11.

 

[Bwana Simba]

Here's a link to a slightly different article about the Addis Ababa lions:

Geneticists discover distinct lion group in squalid conditions

 

[Pertinax]

Very verbose article but interesting nonetheless.

I noted a couple of discrepancies in this one too- it says 'males and females are housed seperately', yet, the first photo shows a pair together.

The size of the housing is given as a 'den' 4 x 5 x 2.5 metres and eight divisions- does that mean an extra eight smaller cages? I can't see it being possible to have fifteen lions crammed into a total area of the dimensions given.

It sounds as if, hopefully big, improvements are on the way for them this year.

 

[Bwana Simba]

Very verbose article but interesting nonetheless.

I noted a couple of discrepancies in this one too- it says 'males and females are housed seperately', yet, the first photo shows a pair together.

The size of the housing is given as a 'den' 4 x 5 x 2.5 metres and eight divisions- does that mean an extra eight smaller cages? I can't see it being possible to have fifteen lions crammed into a total area of the dimensions given.

It sounds as if, hopefully big, improvements are on the way for them this year.

It could be that the males and females have been recently separated. I have seen a few pics & videos of them before, and they were housed in pairs and there's more than one cage, designed in the old zoo fashion of decades ago. Just a row of bare concrete cages with steel bars at the front, and each cage looked to be approximately 4 x 5 x 2.5 metres. From what I remember, the pics and videos showed single males, male & female pairs, and I think there was a bachelor pair too.

I remember another article about this zoo that I had seen a while back - it mentioned that they were poisoning surplus cubs and selling them to taxidermists who used to stuff them and sell them as souvenirs or something. I think their reason for doing this was due to lack of space, and it's possible that the males & females are now separated to prevent over-breeding - at least until the new facility is completed and the captive-breeding programme is in place.

 

[Chlidonias]

I noted a couple of discrepancies in this one too- it says 'males and females are housed seperately', yet, the first photo shows a pair together.

I think that might mean pairs are caged individually (i.e. each cage has a male and female pair, rather than all the lions being caged together)

 

[Pertinax]

. Just a row of bare concrete cages with steel bars at the front, and each cage looked to be approximately 4 x 5 x 2.5 metres. .

Yes, that is more like it- so its eight cages with those dimensions, each for one or two Lions- so maximum holding is 16 as the article said. I guess that is why they 'remove' any surplus and some have ended up as taxidermy etc.

Poor Lions, I hope they can shift them into something better soon, whatever their provenance.

 

[Pertinax]

I think that might mean pairs are caged individually (i.e. each cage has a male and female pair, rather than all the lions being caged together)

Yes, I think I've got it clear now- eight cages each approx 4 x 5 x 2.5 and each holding a pair of (or two individual) Lions. Article didn't really make the housing set-up very clear.