Cape lion

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Cape lion
Cape Lion.jpg
Male at Jardin des plantes, Paris circa 1860
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
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 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] Genetic analysis published in 2023 suggests that Cape lions were not particularly distinctive from other Southern African lion populations. [9]

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. [10] [11] 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. [12] [13] 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. [12] 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. [13] 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. [19] Lions approaching 272 kg (600 lb) were shot south of the Vaal River. [20] 19th century authors claimed that the Cape lion was bigger than the Asiatic lion. [21]

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, [22] with a 2023 study finding that the colour of Cape lion manes exhibited the same dark-light colour variation found in other lions and that mane colour was not a distinctive characteristic of this population. [9]

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. [23]

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. [24] [25] 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 the Schönbrunn 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. [26] However, Spence died in 2010 and the zoo closed in 2012, with the lions expected to go to Drakenstein Lion Park. [27]

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. 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; a 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 spotted cat native to Africa and Asia

The leopard is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of 92–183 cm (36–72 in) with a 66–102 cm (26–40 in) long tail and a shoulder height of 60–70 cm (24–28 in). Males typically weigh 30.9–72 kg (68–159 lb), and females 20.5–43 kg (45–95 lb).

Panthera is a genus within the family Felidae, specifically known as one of two extant genera in the subfamily Pantherinae. It contains the largest living members of the cat family. There are five living species: the jaguar, leopard, lion, snow leopard and tiger, as well as a number of extinct species.

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

The Barbary lion was a population of the lion subspecies Panthera leo leo. It was also called North African lion, Atlas lion and Egyptian lion. It lived in the mountains and deserts of the Maghreb 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 of 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 species of lion

Panthera spelaea, also known as the 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. Genetic analysis of ancient DNA has revealed that while closely related, it was a distinct species genetically isolated from the modern lion occurring in Africa and Asia, with the genetic divergence between the two species variously estimated between 1.9 million and 600,000 years ago. It is closely related and probably ancestral to the American lion. The species ranged from Western Europe to eastern Beringia in North America, and was a prominent member of the mammoth steppe fauna. 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. Panthera atrox lived in North America during the Pleistocene epoch, from around 340,000 to 12,800 years ago. The species was initially described by American paleontologist Joseph Leidy in 1853 based on a fragmentary mandible (jawbone) from Mississippi; the species name ('atrox') means "savage" or "cruel". The status of the species is debated, with some mammalogists and paleontologists considering it a distinct species or a subspecies of Panthera leo, which contains living lions. However, novel genetic evidence has shown that it is instead a distinct species derived from the Eurasian cave or steppe lion, evolving after its geographic isolation in North America. Its fossils have been excavated from Canada to Mexico. It was about 25% larger than the modern lion, making it one of the largest known felids to ever exist.

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

The Asiatic lion is a lion population of the subspecies Panthera leo leo. 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. The first scientific description of the Asiatic lion was published in 1826 by the Austrian zoologist Johann N. Meyer, who named it Felis leo persicus. Until the 19th century, it occurred in Saudi Arabia, eastern Turkey, Iran, Mesopotamia, and from east of the Indus River in Pakistan to the Bengal region and the Narmada River in Central India.

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

Panthera leo leo is a lion subspecies 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 colour 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 subpopulation 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

The Pantherinae is a subfamily of the 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. As of April 2014, the population was estimated at 80–120 mature individuals, with a continuing downward 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.

<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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Addis Ababa Zoo</span> Zoological park in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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The term "maneless lion" or "scanty mane lion" often refers to a male lion without a mane, or with a weak one.

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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. Bibcode:2006ConG....7..507B. doi:10.1007/s10592-005-9062-0. S2CID   24190889. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-08-24.
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  9. 1 2 de Flamingh, Alida; Gnoske, Thomas P; Rivera-Colón, Angel G; Simeonovski, Velizar A; Kerbis Peterhans, Julian C; Yamaguchi, Nobuyuki; Witt, Kelsey E; Catchen, Julian; Roca, Alfred L; Malhi, Ripan Singh (2024-03-13). Murphy, William (ed.). "Genomic analysis supports Cape Lion population connectivity prior to colonial eradication and extinction". Journal of Heredity. 115 (2): 155–165. doi:10.1093/jhered/esad081. ISSN   0022-1503. PMID   38150491.
  10. ↑ Lundholm, B. (1952). "A skull of a Cape lioness (Felis leo melanochaita H. Smith". Annals of the Transvaal Museum (32): 21–24.
  11. ↑ Stevenson-Hamilton, J. (1954). "Specimen of the extinct Cape lion". African Wildlife (8): 187–189.
  12. 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.
  13. 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. Bibcode:2011JBiog..38.1356B. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02500.x. S2CID   82728679.
  14. ↑ Lundholm, B. (1952). "A skull of a Cape Lioness (Felis leo melanochaitus H. Smith)". Annale van die Transvaal Museum. 22 (1): 21−24.
  15. 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.
  16. ↑ "Kaapse leeuw". Archived from the original on 2020-10-29.
  17. ↑ "Lev Princ" (in Czech). Museum of Emil Holub. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  18. ↑ "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.
  19. ↑ Heller, E. (1913). New races of carnivores and baboons from equatorial Africa and Abyssinia Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 61(19): 1–12.
  20. ↑ Pease, A. E. (1913). The Book of the Lion John Murray, London.
  21. ↑ 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.
  22. ↑ 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.
  23. ↑ 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. Bibcode:2007AfJEc..45..135H. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2006.00686.x .
  24. ↑ "'Extinct' lions (Cape lion) surface in Siberia". The BBC . 2000. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  25. ↑ "Лев". Sibzoo.narod.ru. Archived from the original on March 29, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  26. ↑ "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)
  27. ↑ Davis, R. (2012). "We lost a zoo: Western Cape's only zoo closes". Daily Maverick . Retrieved 2015-03-30.
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