Shed a Tear or Two for the Atlas Lion: Part 1
In this two-part series, we will discuss lions – the regal, majestic mammals and apex predators that we are still in awe of.
In this first part, we will talk about the magnificent extinct Atlas, Barbary, North African or Egyptian lion. In the second part, next month, we will speak about the ancient lions of the world and the tragic ways in which they were exterminated from many regions by human beings.
These Atlas lions were huge and formidable. They looked bigger than other lions found in other parts of Africa because their manes were not only very large and dense, but they also had large, thick black hair that descended from the front of their belly to the back. This morphological development was perhaps due to the fact that these lions lived at high altitudes, where the atmosphere was colder. Even today, some African lions do exhibit such impressive tufts of belly hair, but not so dense. Zoological lion specimens measured 7.7 to 9.2 feet (2.35 to 2.8 m) in head-to-tail length, with skull sizes ranging from 12.15 to 14.66 inches (30.85 to 37.23 cm). Some manes extended over the shoulders and under the belly to the elbows. The mane hair measured 3.1 to 8.7 inches (8 to 22 cm) long.
Historically, the Barbary lion was found abundantly in the deserts and mountains of the Maghreb in North Africa, from Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia to Egypt. Their fossil record goes back 100,000 to 110,000 years. A significant fact about these superlative Barbary lions is that, genetically, they are closest to Asiatic lions. As we will discuss in Part 2, the Asiatic lions are extinct from all their previous habitats and are now found only in India.
In ancient Egypt, the Egyptian lions inspired, were revered, and were worshipped. The Giza pyramid complex houses the Great Pyramid and the lion-headed, iconic Sphinx, built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom between 2600 BCE– 2500 BCE. Even the headgear of the pharaohs resembles a lion’s head. Some pharaohs, like Ramesses II and Tutankhamun, kept lions in their palaces. Ramesses II even reportedly had a tamed lion that accompanied him on military campaigns. Pharaohs hunted lions to prove their supreme bravery and mastery over wild, chaotic forces. For example, Amenhotep III claimed he killed 102 lions during the first ten years of his reign. The fierce warrior goddess Sekhmet had the head of a lioness, acting as a protector of the king. The ancient Egyptian god Maahes was a lion-headed god of war and protection. Leontopolis was known as the "City of Lions" because its temple was sacred to him.
Because of their large and redoubtable appearance, the Atlas lions were also hunted to extinction. Especially since 2,000 years ago, these lions were transported from North Africa in thousands to fight gladiators, slaves, and even other animals – often being kept hungry themselves – and were killed in Roman colosseums throughout their realm for gory spectacle. Since then, they were systematically eradicated in every region following the spread of firearms and bounties. The last known wild Atlas lion was killed in Morocco in 1922. A small number survived in Algeria into the early 1960s, and a few survived until the mid-1960s.
Finally, some good news. Recently, the Moroccan government took steps to bring back these magnificent creatures into the wild. But, as we can imagine, there are many hurdles to cross:
· No live “pure” Atlas lion remains today, not even in zoos.
· So, scientists have to identify extant lions that have the closest genes to Barbary lions. Then they need to selectively breed them to obtain a new subspecies that has the closest traits of the extinct Atlas lions. And we know that Indian lions do possess the closest genes.
· Their Atlas Mountain and other habitats have changed drastically due to agriculture, grazing, and development.
· Scientists will also need to study the effect such an introduction of a new species would have on the existing ecosystem.
In 2018, the Moroccan government identified about 1,700 square miles of protected habitat in the Atlas Mountains for a new national park for these lions.
Did You Know?
1. Historical records have mentioned Atlas lions, that is, males weighing up to nearly 600 pounds (300 kg) and measuring over seven feet (213 cm) from head to tail-tip, ranking them among the largest lions ever known.
2. Their heavy manes and dense underbelly hair evolved to keep them warm during cold winters in the snowy Atlas Mountains.
3. Unlike lion prides in Africa that lived in small to large prides, just like today, the Barbary lions lived in very small prides, perhaps a few females, their cubs, and juveniles, while adult lions were separated from the pride, like in modern prides.
4. As deserts expanded and human farming grew, the lions abandoned flatlands to hide in dense oak and cedar mountain forests.
5. Moroccan sultans kept large collections of these lions in palace gardens for centuries as symbols of power.
6. In 1839, the Sultan of Morocco sent Atlas lions as a diplomatic gift to U.S. President Martin Van Buren.
7. While the wild population is gone, descendants with Atlas lion heritage survive today at the Rabat Zoo in Morocco and other global facilities. However, scientists say that many of these mammals are not “pure” because they are products of being bred with normal lionesses.
8. Genetic sequencing of museum skulls—including those from the Tower of London—proved their close ties to the Asiatic lions of India.
9. They inspired the nickname of Morocco’s national football team, known globally as the Atlas Lions.
10. When they were thriving, the Atlas lions preyed on Barbary stags – a local red deer species – wild pigs, gazelles like Cuvier’s gazelles and Dama gazelles, Barbary sheep, and antelopes such as oryx and addax.
Comments