Cape lion

Last updated
Cape lion
Cape Lion.jpg
Male at Jardin des plantes, Paris circa 1860
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Pantherinae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P. leo
Subspecies: P. l. melanochaita
Population:†Cape lion

The Cape lion was a distinctive population of lions in South Africa's Natal and Cape Provinces that was extirpated in the mid-19th century. [1] [2] The type specimen originated at the Cape of Good Hope and was described in 1842. [3]

Contents

Traditionally, the Cape lion was considered a distinct subspecies of lion, Panthera leo melanochaita . [4] [5] However, phylogeographic analysis has shown that lion populations in Southern and East Africa are closely related. [6] [7] In 2017, the subspecies Panthera leo melanochaita was recircumscribed to include all lion populations in Southern and East Africa. [8]

Taxonomy

Drawing titled 'Kaapsche Leeuw en Leeuwin (Felis leo capensis)', published in Brehms Tierleben, 1927 Brehms Het Leven der Dieren Zoogdieren Orde 4 Leeuw (Felis leo capensis).jpg
Drawing titled 'Kaapsche Leeuw en Leeuwin (Felis leo capensis)', published in Brehms Tierleben , 1927

Felis (Leo) melanochaita was a black-maned lion specimen from the Cape of Good Hope that was described by Ch. H. Smith in 1842. [3] [4] In the 19th century, naturalists and hunters recognised it as a distinct subspecies because of this dark mane colour. [1] In the 20th century, some authors supported this view of the Cape lion being a distinct subspecies. [9] [10] Vratislav Mazák hypothesized that it evolved geographically isolated from other populations by the Great Escarpment. [1]

This theory was questioned in the early 21st century. Genetic exchanges between lion populations in the Cape, Kalahari and Transvaal regions, and farther east are considered having been possible through a corridor between the escarpment and the Indian Ocean. [6] Results of phylogeographic studies support this notion of lions in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa being genetically close. [11] [12] Based on the analysis of 357 lion samples from 10 countries, it is thought that lions migrated from Southern to East Africa during the Pleistocene and Holocene. [11] Analysis of 194 lion samples from 22 countries suggest that populations in Southern and East Africa are distinct from populations in West and North Africa and Asia. [12] In 2017, lion populations in Southern and East Africa were subsumed under P. l. melanochaita. [8]

Zoological specimens

A few natural history museums keep Cape lion specimens in their collections:

Characteristics

The type specimen of the Cape lion was described as very large with black-edged ears and a black mane extending beyond the shoulders and under the belly. [3] Skulls of two lion specimen in the British Natural History Museum from the Orange River basin were described as a little shorter in the occipital regions than other lions in South Africa and with a tendency to develop the second lower premolar. [1]

American zoologist Edmund Heller described the Cape lion's skull as longer than those of equatorial lions, by at least 1.0 in (25 mm) on average, despite being comparatively narrow. He considered the Cape lion to have been 'distinctly' bigger than other lions in Africa. [18] Lions approaching 272 kg (600 lb) were shot south of the Vaal River. [19] 19th century authors claimed that the Cape lion was bigger than the Asiatic lion. [20]

Results of a long-term study indicate that the colour of lion manes is influenced by climatic variables and varies between individuals. Manes are darker and longer in cool seasons. [21]

Distribution and habitat

A 1739 advertisement by Charles Benjamin Incledon featuring a Mesopotamian lion from the vicinity of Bassorah, Cape lion, tiger from the East Indies, panther from Buenos Aires, Hyaena hyaena from West Africa, and leopard from Turkey, besides a "Man tyger" from Africa Bodleian Libraries, Handbill of Merchant's Hall, 1739, announcing A lion, lionesses, tigers, etc..jpg
A 1739 advertisement by Charles Benjamin Incledon featuring a Mesopotamian lion from the vicinity of Bassorah, Cape lion, tiger from the East Indies, panther from Buenos Aires, Hyaena hyaena from West Africa, and leopard from Turkey, besides a "Man tyger" from Africa

In the early 19th century, lions still occurred in the Karoo plains and in the Northern Cape. In 1844, lions were sighted south of the Riet River. The last lions south of the Orange River were sighted between 1850 and 1858. In the northern Orange Free State, lions may have survived into the 1860s. [1]

In 2003, six lions from Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park were relocated to Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape Province. [22]

In captivity

In 2000, specimens asserted to be descendants of the Cape lion were found in captivity in Russia, and two of them were brought to South Africa. South African zoo director John Spence reportedly was long fascinated by stories of these grand lions scaling the walls of Jan van Riebeeck's Fort de Goede Hoop in the 17th century. He studied van Riebeeck's journals to discern the Cape lion's features, which included a long black mane, black in their ears, and reportedly a larger size. He believed that some Cape lions might have been taken to Europe and interbred with other lions. His 30-year search led to his discovery of black-maned lions with features of the Cape lion at the Novosibirsk Zoo in Siberia, in 2000. [23] [24] Besides having a black mane, the specimen that attracted Spence had a "wide face and sturdy legs." Novosibirsk Zoo's population, which had 40 cubs over a 30-year period, continues, and Spence, aided by a zoo in Vienna, was allowed to bring two cubs back to Tygerberg Zoo. Back in South Africa, Spence explained that he hoped to breed lions that at least looked like Cape lions, and to have DNA testing done to establish whether or not the cubs were descendants of the original Cape lion. [25] However, Spence died in 2010 and the zoo closed in 2012, with the lions expected to go to Drakenstein Lion Park. [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felidae</span> Family of mammals

Felidae is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid. The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the domestic cat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lion</span> Large cat native to Africa and Asia

The lion is a large cat of the genus Panthera native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane. It is a social species, forming groups called prides. A lion's pride consists of a few adult males, related females, and cubs. Groups of female lions usually hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The lion is an apex and keystone predator; although some lions scavenge when opportunities occur and have been known to hunt humans, lions typically do not actively seek out and prey on humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leopard</span> Large cat native to Africa and Asia

The leopard is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera, a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, and on the Indian subcontinent to Southeast and East Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because leopard populations are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and are declining in large parts of the global range. The leopard is considered locally extinct in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Jordan, Morocco, Togo, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Kuwait, Syria, Libya, Tunisia and most likely in North Korea, Gambia, Laos, Lesotho, Tajikistan, Vietnam and Israel. Contemporary records suggest that the leopard occurs in only 25% of its historical global range.

Panthera is a genus within the family Felidae that was named and described by Lorenz Oken in 1816 who placed all the spotted cats in this group. Reginald Innes Pocock revised the classification of this genus in 1916 as comprising the tiger, lion, jaguar, and leopard on the basis of common cranial features. Results of genetic analysis indicate that the snow leopard also belongs to the genus Panthera, a classification that was accepted by IUCN Red List assessors in 2008.

The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus Panthera, namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbary lion</span> Lion population

The Barbary lion, also called the North African lion, Berber lion, Atlas lion, and Egyptian lion, is an extinct population of the lion subspecies Panthera leo leo. It lived in the mountains and deserts of the Barbary Coast of North Africa, from Morocco to Egypt. It was eradicated following the spread of firearms and bounties for shooting lions. A comprehensive review of hunting and sighting records revealed that small groups of lions may have survived in Algeria until the early 1960s, and in Morocco until the mid-1960s. Today, it is locally extinct in this region. Fossils belonging to the Barbary lion dating to between 100,000 and 110,000 years were found in the cave of Bizmoune, near Essaouira.

<i>Panthera spelaea</i> Extinct cave lion species

Panthera spelaea, also known as the Eurasian cave lion, European cave lion or steppe lion, is an extinct Panthera species that most likely evolved in Europe after the third Cromerian interglacial stage, less than 600,000 years ago. Phylogenetic analysis of fossil bone samples revealed that it was highly distinct and genetically isolated from the modern lion occurring in Africa and Asia. Analysis of morphological differences and mitochondrial data support the taxonomic recognition of Panthera spelaea as a distinct species that genetically diverged from the lion about 1.9 million years ago. Nuclear genomic evidence shows a more recent split approximately 500,000 years ago, with no subsequent interbreeding with the ancestors of the modern lion. The oldest known bone fragments were excavated in Yakutia and radiocarbon dated at least 62,400 years old. It became extinct about 13,000 years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American lion</span> Extinct species of carnivore

Panthera atrox, better known as the American lion, also called the North American lion, or American cave lion, is an extinct pantherine cat that lived in North America during the Pleistocene epoch and the early Holocene epoch, about 340,000 to 11,000 years ago. Its fossils have been excavated from Alaska to Mexico. Genetic analysis has shown that the American lion and the Late Pleistocene Eurasian cave lion are sister lineages. It was about 25% larger than the modern lion, making it one of the largest known felids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caspian tiger</span> Extinct tiger population in Central and Western Asia

The Caspian tiger was a Panthera tigris tigris population native to eastern Turkey, northern Iran, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus around the Caspian Sea, Central Asia to northern Afghanistan, and the Xinjiang region in western China. Until the Middle Ages, it was also present in Ukraine and southern Russia. It inhabited sparse forests and riverine corridors in this region until the 1970s. This population was regarded as a distinct subspecies and assessed as extinct in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asiatic lion</span> Lion population in India

The Asiatic lion is a population of Panthera leo leo that today survives in the wild only in India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujarat. Historically, it inhabited much of southwest Asia to northern India.

<i>Panthera leo leo</i> Lion subspecies

Panthera leo leo is a lion subspecies, which is present in West Africa, northern Central Africa and India. In West and Central Africa it is restricted to fragmented and isolated populations with a declining trajectory. It has been referred to as the Northern lion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White lion</span> Rare colour mutation of the Kruger subspecies of lion

The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest recorded sighting in this region was in 1938. White lions first became known to the English-speaking world in 1977 through the book The White Lions of Timbavati.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bali tiger</span> Extinct tiger population in Sunda Island Bali

The Bali tiger was a Panthera tigris sondaica population on the Indonesian island of Bali which has been extinct since the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pantherinae</span> Subfamily of felids

Pantherinae is a subfamily within the family Felidae; it was named and first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1917 as only including the Panthera species. The Pantherinae genetically diverged from a common ancestor between 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago and 10.67 to 3.76 million years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malayan tiger</span> Tiger population in Malayan Peninsula

The Malayan tiger is a tiger from a specific population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies that is native to Peninsular Malaysia. This population inhabits the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula and has been classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2015. As of April 2014, the population was estimated at 80 to 120 mature individuals with a continuous declining trend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African leopard</span> Leopard subspecies

The African leopard is the nominate subspecies of the leopard, native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been fragmented in the course of habitat conversion. Leopards have also been recorded in North Africa as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of lions in Europe</span> Lions in prehistoric and historic Europe

The history of lions in Europe is based on fossils of Pleistocene and Holocene lions excavated in Europe since the early 19th century. The first lion fossil was excavated in southern Germany, and described by Georg August Goldfuss using the scientific name Felis spelaea. It probably dates to the Würm glaciation, and is 191,000 to 57,000 years old. Older lion skull fragments were excavated in Germany and described by Wilhelm von Reichenau under Felis fossilis in 1906. These are estimated at between 621,000 and 533,000 years old. The modern lion inhabited parts of Southern Europe since the early Holocene.

<i>Panthera leo melanochaita</i> Lion subspecies

Panthera leo melanochaita is a lion subspecies in Southern and East Africa. In this part of Africa, lion populations are regionally extinct in Lesotho, Djibouti and Eritrea, and are threatened by loss of habitat and prey base, killing by local people in retaliation for loss of livestock, and in several countries also by trophy hunting. Since the turn of the 21st century, lion populations in intensively managed protected areas in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe have increased, but declined in East African range countries. In 2005, a Lion Conservation Strategy was developed for East and Southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parc des Félins</span> Zoo in France

Parc des Félins is a zoological park in France dedicated to the breeding and conservation of wild members of the cat family. It is located in the commune of Lumigny-Nesles-Ormeaux in Seine-et-Marne, about 53.6 km (33.3 mi) southeast of Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tygerberg Zoo</span> Zoo in from Cape Town, South Africa

Tygerberg Zoo was a 24-hectare (59-acre) zoo near Stellenbosch, South Africa, which was the only zoo in the Western Cape province and the closest to Cape Town. Established in 1979, it was privately run, operated for 33 years, and closed in 2012. It was "once a major tourist attraction and a hot spot for school educational outings" according to Cape Times coverage of its closure. Featured animals included chimpanzees and tigers, lions, and cheetahs. The zoo had 160 bird species and 63 reptile species, and "specialised in breeding rare and endangered animals."

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mazak, V. (1975). "Notes on the Black-maned Lion of the Cape, Panthera leo melanochaita (Ch. H. Smith, 1842) and a Revised List of the Preserved Specimens". Verhandelingen Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (64): 1–44. ISBN   0-7204-8289-5.
  2. ↑ Bauer, H.; Packer, C.; Funston, P.F.; Henschel, P. & Nowell, K. (2015). "Panthera leo". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Smith, C.H. (1842). "Black maned lion Leo melanochaita". In Jardine, W. (ed.). The Naturalist's Library. Vol. 15. Mammalia. London: Chatto and Windus. p. Plate X, 177.
  4. 1 2 Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Panthera leo". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 546. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  5. ↑ Nowell, K.; Jackson, P. (1996). "Panthera leo" (PDF). Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. pp. 17–21, 37–41. ISBN   978-2-8317-0045-8.
  6. 1 2 Yamaguchi, N. (2000). "The Barbary lion and the Cape lion: their phylogenetic places and conservation" (PDF). 1. African Lion Working Group News: 9–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-08-18.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ↑ Barnett, R.; Yamaguchi, N.; Barnes, I.; Cooper, A. (2006). "Lost populations and preserving genetic diversity in the lion Panthera leo: Implications for its ex situ conservation" (PDF). Conservation Genetics. 7 (4): 507–514. doi:10.1007/s10592-005-9062-0. S2CID   24190889. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-08-24.
  8. 1 2 Kitchener, A. C.; Breitenmoser-Würsten, C.; Eizirik, E.; Gentry, A.; Werdelin, L.; Wilting, A.; Yamaguchi, N.; Abramov, A. V.; Christiansen, P.; Driscoll, C.; Duckworth, J. W.; Johnson, W.; Luo, S.-J.; Meijaard, E.; O’Donoghue, P.; Sanderson, J.; Seymour, K.; Bruford, M.; Groves, C.; Hoffmann, M.; Nowell, K.; Timmons, Z.; Tobe, S. (2017). "A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group" (PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 11). ISSN   1027-2992.
  9. ↑ Lundholm, B. (1952). "A skull of a Cape lioness (Felis leo melanochaita H. Smith". Annals of the Transvaal Museum (32): 21–24.
  10. ↑ Stevenson-Hamilton, J. (1954). "Specimen of the extinct Cape lion". African Wildlife (8): 187–189.
  11. 1 2 Antunes, A.; Troyer, J. L.; Roelke, M. E.; Pecon-Slattery, J.; Packer, C.; Winterbach, C.; Winterbach, H.; Johnson, W. E. (2008). "The Evolutionary Dynamics of the Lion Panthera leo Revealed by Host and Viral Population Genomics". PLOS Genetics. 4 (11): e1000251. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000251. PMC   2572142 . PMID   18989457.
  12. 1 2 Bertola, L. D.; Van Hooft, W. F.; Vrieling, K.; Uit De Weerd, D. R.; York, D. S.; Bauer, H.; Prins, H. H. T.; Funston, P. J.; Udo De Haes, H. A.; Leirs, H.; Van Haeringen, W. A.; Sogbohossou, E.; Tumenta, P. N.; De Iongh, H. H. (2011). "Genetic diversity, evolutionary history and implications for conservation of the lion (Panthera leo) in West and Central Africa". Journal of Biogeography. 38 (7): 1356–1367. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02500.x. S2CID   82728679.
  13. ↑ Lundholm, B. (1952). "A skull of a Cape Lioness (Felis leo melanochaitus H. Smith)". Annale van die Transvaal Museum. 22 (1): 21−24.
  14. 1 2 Mazak, V. and Husson. A.M. (1960). "Einige Bemerkungen über den Kaplöwen, Panthera leo melanochaitus (Ch. H. Smith, 1842)". Zoologische Mededelingen. 37 (7): 101−111.
  15. ↑ "Kaapse leeuw". Archived from the original on 2020-10-29.
  16. ↑ "Lev Princ" (in Czech). Museum of Emil Holub. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  17. ↑ "V muzeu Emila Holuba se ukrýval kapský lev (Museum of Emil Holub was hiding a Cape lion)". Novinky.cz (in Czech). May 22, 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  18. ↑ Heller, E. (1913). New races of carnivores and baboons from equatorial Africa and Abyssinia Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 61(19): 1–12.
  19. ↑ Pease, A. E. (1913). The Book of the Lion John Murray, London.
  20. ↑ Lieber, F.; Wigglesworth, E.; Bradford, T. G., eds. (1857). "Lion (felis leo)". Encyclopædia Americana. A popular dictionary. Vol. VIII (New ed.). Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea. p. 5−7.
  21. ↑ West P.M.; Packer C. (2002). "Sexual Selection, Temperature, and the Lion's Mane". Science. 297 (5585): 1339–1343. Bibcode:2002Sci...297.1339W. doi:10.1126/science.1073257. PMID   12193785. S2CID   15893512.
  22. ↑ Hayward, M.W.; Hayward, G.J. (2007). "Activity patterns of reintroduced lion Panthera leo and spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta in the Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa". African Journal of Ecology. 45 (2): 135−141. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2006.00686.x.
  23. ↑ "'Extinct' lions (Cape lion) surface in Siberia". The BBC . 2000. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  24. ↑ "Лев". Sibzoo.narod.ru. Archived from the original on March 29, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  25. ↑ "South Africa: Lion Cubs Thought to Be Cape Lions". AP Archive, The Associated Press. 2000. (with 2-minute video of cubs at zoo with John Spence, 3 sound-bites, and 15 photos)
  26. ↑ Davis, R. (2012). "We lost a zoo: Western Cape's only zoo closes". Daily Maverick . Retrieved 2015-03-30.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.