Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 58, October 2006, pp. 1-13. | Page 5

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recent research suggests that they were only slightly larger than today's African lion,
which weighs approximately 420 lbs on average. The Barbary Lion also called the Atlas
or Nubian lion, formerly ranged in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa and in territory
from Morocco to Egypt. The last known Barbary Lion in the wild was shot in the Atlas
Mountains in 1922.
Unlike most African lions, the Barbary Lion was a mountain predator, preferring
woodlands. The two other primary Atlas Mountain predators, the Barbary leopard and
Atlas bear, are also now extinct, with no known individuals in the wild.
There are several dozen individuals in captivity believed to be Barbary Lions; Port
Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent (England) has twelve specimens descended from
animals owned by the King of Morocco; one of the lions is named Suliman. In addition,
11 animals believed to be Barbary Lions were found in Addis Ababa zoo, descendants of
animals owned by the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie.

A Picture taken by the Author in the Emirates Mall, Dubai in July 2006 of a replica “Louis
Moullin” (1817-1876) painting, which shows Arabian lion hunters killing two Arabian lions and
taking the two cups.

In the past, scientists believed that the "distinct" subspecific status of the Barbary lion
could be justified by their seemingly fixed external morphology. This morphology was

Gazelle – Number 58 – October 2006