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Maguari

Direction sign at Port Lympne 27/11/09

What I love here is the completely unnecessary level of accuracy - TO THE LIONS would have been fine - even just LIONS given that the sign is arrow-shaped. But the sign not only specifies the subspecies but even goes so far as to give two alternative common names for it. Brilliant. (It's not even as if they have more than one type of lion...)

Direction sign at Port Lympne 27/11/09
Maguari, 1 Dec 2009
    • Maguari
      What I love here is the completely unnecessary level of accuracy - TO THE LIONS would have been fine - even just LIONS given that the sign is arrow-shaped. But the sign not only specifies the subspecies but even goes so far as to give two alternative common names for it. Brilliant.


      (It\'s not even as if they have more than one type of lion...)
    • Pertinax
      Actually I wonder how much longer they will keep these Lions now they seem to have stopped breeding them again and have either castrated or vasectomised the males. Perhaps they've recognised there is no point in breeding them now? In which case they might well decide at some stage soon to move them off to a Safari Park and use the enclosures for other species.
    • Animal
      Their genetic line is very plenty. So they sended some lions to breed at other zoos (f.e. Hannover) and stopped the breeding with the rest of them. By now, zoos try to coordinate the breeding of the p.l. leo. So just the same reason why some zoos don't breed with their sibirian tigers anymore, because there are too many from one genetic line.
    • Pertinax
      Port Lympne's stock is descended from the Rabat/Morroco Lions which were thought previously to be the purest Barbary stock- but I think its now scientifically proven they are no more descended from Barbaries than Lions elsewhere. But it seems the breeding programme is still being carried on by some zoos at least.

      Its a bit strange if they have discontinued breeding at Port Lympne because this Rabat line is overepresented, that they sent a male to start breeding at Hanover quite recently- maybe Hanover wanted/ were asked to use a male descended from the Rabat stock to start their own breeding programme with.

      Usually Howletts/Port Lympne like to be breeding animals- keeping these Lions in a non-breeding situation doesn't seem much like their style, that is why I thought they may eventually move them away.

      The whole Barbary Lion breeding programme does seem rather confusing to me- whether it is still considered worthwhile by the zoos that keep them- or not?
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  • Category:
    Port Lympne Wild Animal Park
    Uploaded By:
    Maguari
    Date:
    1 Dec 2009
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    Comment Count:
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