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Maguari

Snow Leopard and Barbary Lion exhibits at Port Lympne 27/11/09

View from near the meerkat exhibit.

Snow Leopard and Barbary Lion exhibits at Port Lympne 27/11/09
Maguari, 1 Dec 2009
    • Maguari
      View from near the meerkat exhibit.
    • zootiger
      Such a shame it is off show
    • Moebelle
      you do know barbary lions are extinct
    • KCZooFan
      extinct...in the wild
    • Moebelle
      oh my b, i never really looked them up and isis said they were extinct since 1942
    • Maguari
      It's an arguable (and much-argued) point.

      There are 19 European zoos (including Port Lympne) maintaining 'Barbary' Lions (there's a list here: ZootierlisteHomepage). These are all descended from various animals found over the years to have Barbary ancestry (most famously from Rabat Zoo).

      How pure they are is where the debate lies - a few years ago the whole programme seemed about to give up and just admit they weren't pure enough for it to be worth it - but it seems to me there has been a bit of a resurgence the last few years.

      So - there are animals labelled as Barbary Lions (Panthera leo leo) in zoos - but for now it's an open question whether they are 'proper' Barbaries. But to me, it seems reasonable to keep them going until they are utterly disproved.



      (of course, this is complicated by the new 'there's only ever been two lion subspecies' theory, but that's a whole separate debate!)
    • Pertinax
      It seems to keep going because every so often, despite any scientific evidence to the contrary as to their purity, a new zoo or two gets into keeping 'Barbaries' e.g. Belfast and Hanover both have stock from Port Lympne, while Port Lympne are currently not breeding any.
    • zootiger
      Such a shame so much is now off show at Port Lympne. Their is now no entry to the old meerkat enclosure, samaira the babary lion, Blizzard the snow leopard, the 10 scottish cats and the walkway to the cheetah exhibit
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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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