Dr Livingstone I presume - Part 1
We humans should ever forget our capacity to connect with the collective spirit of animals. Their energy is essential to our future growth.
- Shirley Maclaine


An early postcard image of the Victoria Falls the source of Nile discovered by the missionary and explorer David Livingstone
This post has been edited to reflect recent enquiries (November 2012) made into the background of the lions at the former Zion Wildlife Gardens.
We all know about David Livingstone the missionary who discovered the Victoria Falls as being the source of the Nile. Like many explorers of his time Livingstone encountered many of the strange and wonderful wildlife we now enjoy in documentaries and perhaps if we are fortunate, get to see these incredible creatures in their true and natural habitats behaving as nature intended. Perhaps many of those strange and wonderful animals he had seen during his many explorations would have held of moment of wonder for the legendary explorer.In 1840 during a visit to Mabotsa Livingstone had his first encounter with the great African Lion.
"His intense desire that all natives should have an opportunity to embrace Christianity, and his decided preference to labor where no white man had worked, led him to locate at Mabotsa, northward in the interior. This locality was infested by lions; and one day one which the natives had wounded sprang out of the bushes, seized Livingstone at the shoulder, tore his flesh and broke his arm. Ever after he could not raise his gun to shoot without great pain." - sourced from World Wide Missions
Livingstone's experience was nothing unusual during those early days. The people that lived in the region lived with such things each day of their lives doing what they could to defend themselves and their families from opportunist predators. The Victorian explorer brought with him the one thing that was already changing the future of the lion species in Africa - the gun.
I thought about Dr Livingstone as I walked with Sara, Megan and Tim towards an enclosure housing a massive male African Lion. I wondered what that great Victorian explorer of Africa would have done, if he had faced a powerful male Barbary Lion (an extinct species) that weighed in excess of 200 kg had he visited North Africa. That mighty lion would have been shot and perhaps the skin kept as a reminder of that encounter.
The Barbary Lion's habitat consisted of the woodland areas of the mountainous chains of the Great and Little Atlas. It was separated geographically from other lion populations almost entirely by deserts to the south, south-east and east. Prey species were not abundant in these areas which meant the Barbary lion was solitary rather than in a co-operative pride situation as the modern African Lion is. The Barbary Lion's main natural prey included Barbary Red Deer, Barbary sheep, Cuvier's Gazelle and wild boar, as well domesticated livestock kept by the arab tribes people. Males and females only came together in the breeding season thought to be about the month of January. Gestation period is approximately 110 days, after which 1-6 cubs are born, with 3-4 being most common. The cubs are generally heavily spotted with very dark rosettes and weigh approximately 2 kg at birth. Their eyes open around the 6th day. They begin to walk at 13 days. Females start coming into estrous around 2 years old, but do not generally conceive until 3-4 years. Males show an interest in females between 24-30 months, but do not tend to produce cubs before the age of 3, and more commonly until 4.
The Barbary Lion has a more compact, heavier build than its cousins. Its legs are shorter and its body longer and more robust and muscular in appearance, with a deep chest and well rounded hindquarters. The overall body length is much longer than that of the African Lion. The head has a short broad muzzle with a wide face and large round amber eyes. The eyes have a very clear light iris, rather than brown like the African or Asian. The fur in the inside foreleg of the female is white. The mane that surrounding the face is blonde, while the rest of the mane gives the appearance of being black. The mane is a combination of tawny gray mixed with bright brown and blackish brown hairs. All male Barbary Lions have this color mane - there are no variations. They will have a blonde mane when the animal is immature, or has lost some of its mane and is experiencing re-growth. African and Asian Lions can have many varieties of mane colors, ranging from blonde to red to brown to black. The mane of the Barbary is thick and lush, and extends down the chest through the front legs, down the back below the shoulder, and the length of the belly through to the groin. It gives the appearance of being 50% mane. The ground color of the coat is darker and more grayish than that of the more southern lion populations, and the hair in both sexes is longer.
Debate over whether or not there are in fact genetically pure Barbary Lions still in existence has been raised. Wildlife Link International in association with Oxford University, a UK-based organisation, launched their ambitious Atlas Lion Project. Records suggest around sixty captive lions, although cross-bred with sub-Saharan lions, may have Barbary ancestors. As yet, however, the science does not exist to distinguish true Barbary lions from look-alikes. Barbary expert Dr Yamaguchi is thus attempting to discover the characteristics of the Barbary sub-species using the latest DNA techniques. (information sourced from The Extinction Website). However Wildlink International never went ahead with the project and at this stage nothing further has been forthcoming.
Whatever the debate or the origins the lions of Zion Wildlife Gardens were an experience to see. Perhaps one day Dr Yamaguchi's ambitious dream to see the Barbary Lion restored to its natural North African habitat will become a reality. I hope that happens in my lifetime that would something amazing to see.
Part 2 next
References
The Extinction Website - Species information - Barbary Lions
Wikipedia - Barbary Lions
The Preservation Station - Barbary Lion.com
Historical Images Courtesy of Flickr 'The Commons'
Further Reading:
Burger Hemmer - 2006 Urgent call for breeding of relic zoo population of the critically endangered Barbary Lion (Panthera leo leo Linnaeus 1758) PDF
Great post Liz - what an experience we had eh up at the wildlife gardens? Truly something to remember!
ReplyDeleteYou certainly seem to have a lovely time there!
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