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Lions from Western and Central Africa are thought to be smaller than lions from Eastern or Southern Africa. It is also suggested that they have smaller manes, live in smaller groups, and they likely differ also in the shape of their skull.<ref name=Bertolaetal2011GD/><ref name=Bertolaetal2011RC/> In the area of Pendjari National Park, almost all males are either maneless or have very weak manes.<ref name=Schoeetal2010>Schoe, M., Sogbohossou, E. A., J. Kaandorp, H. d. I. (2010). ''[http://www.leofoundation.org/downloads/schoe%20et%20al%202010%20-%20collaring%20report%20pendjari%20lion%20project%208-19%20january.pdf Progress Report – collaring operation Pendjari Lion Project, Benin.]'' Dutch Zoo Conservation Fund.</ref>
Lions from Western and Central Africa are thought to be smaller than lions from Eastern or Southern Africa. It is also suggested that they have smaller manes, live in smaller groups, and they likely differ also in the shape of their skull.<ref name=Bertolaetal2011GD/><ref name=Bertolaetal2011RC/> In the area of Pendjari National Park, almost all males are either maneless or have very weak manes.<ref name=Schoeetal2010>Schoe, M., Sogbohossou, E. A., J. Kaandorp, H. d. I. (2010). ''[http://www.leofoundation.org/downloads/schoe%20et%20al%202010%20-%20collaring%20report%20pendjari%20lion%20project%208-19%20january.pdf Progress Report – collaring operation Pendjari Lion Project, Benin.]'' Dutch Zoo Conservation Fund.</ref>

From the recorded flesh measurements of two lions in [[Gir Forest]] (head-and-body measurements of {{convert|1.98|m|abbr=on}} each, with tail-lengths of {{convert|89|cm|abbr=on}} and {{convert|79|cm|abbr=on}}, and total lengths of {{convert|2.87|m|abbr=on}} and {{convert|2.82|m|abbr=on}}, respectively), it would appear that [[Indian lion]]s are similar in size to Central African lions.<ref name=Geptner1972/><ref name=Pocock1939>Pocock, R. I. (1939). [https://archive.org/stream/PocockMammalia1/pocock1#page/n261/mode/2up ''The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1'']. Taylor and Francis Ltd., London. Pp. 199–222.</ref> Male Indian lions weigh {{convert|160|–|190|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, and females weigh {{convert|110|–|120|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Haas2005/>


== Distribution and population status ==
== Distribution and population status ==

Revision as of 19:58, 24 July 2017

West African lion
Male West African lion in Pendjari National Park, Benin.
West African lioness from Mefou National Park, Cameroon.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Pantherinae
Genus: Panthera
Species:
P. leo
Subspecies:
P. l. leo
Trinomial name
Panthera leo leo
(Linnaeus, 1758)
File:72275737 africa lions 624 v6.gif
Lions now roam in just 1.1% of their historic range in West Africa.

The West African lion (Panthera leo leo) is a lion population in West Africa that is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. This population is isolated and comprises less than 250 mature individuals.[1] Already in 2004, the lion population in West and Central Africa was fragmented and estimated as comprising at most 1,800 individuals.[2]

It was formerly considered a lion subspecies under the name P. leo senegalensis.[3][4][2][5][6] In 2017, the lion populations in North, West Africa and Central Africa and Asia were subsumed under P. l. leo.[7]

Taxonomic history

In 1826, Johann Nepomuk Meyer gave the taxonomic name Panthera leo senegalensis to lions in the region between Senegal and Nigeria. In 1900, Paul Matschie gave the trinomen Panthera leo kamptzi to lions in northern Cameroon and the region south of Lake Chad. Later they were considered as belonging to P. l. senegalensis.[8]

In a comprehensive study about the evolution of lions, 357 samples of 11 lion populations were examined, including some hybrid lions. The hybrids had descended from lions captured in Angola and Zimbabwe, and apparently Central or West African lions. Results indicated that four lions from Morocco did not exhibit any unique genetic characteristics and shared mitochondrial haplotypes H5 and H6 with lions from West Africa, and together with them were part of a major mtDNA grouping (lineage III) that also included Asiatic samples. According to the authors, this scenario was in line with their theories on lion evolution. They conclude that lineage III developed in Eastern Africa, and then traveled north and west in the first wave of lion expansions out of the region some 118,000 years ago. It apparently broke up into haplotypes H5 and H6 within Africa, and then into H7 and H8 in Western Asia.[9]

Results of genetic analysis indicate that the Western and Central African lions form a different clade of lions, and are perhaps more closely related to Asiatic lions than to lions from Southern or Eastern Africa.[5]

In 2017, the lion populations in Northern, Western and Central Africa and Asia were subsumed under P. l. leo.[7]

Characteristics

An illustration to describe the life of animals in general, featuring Leo senegalensis and an ungulate, by Alfred Brehm (1872).

Lions from Western and Central Africa are thought to be smaller than lions from Eastern or Southern Africa. It is also suggested that they have smaller manes, live in smaller groups, and they likely differ also in the shape of their skull.[5][6] In the area of Pendjari National Park, almost all males are either maneless or have very weak manes.[10]

Distribution and population status

Range map of the commonly accepted subspecies of the lion in the late 20th century

The West African lion is distributed south of the Sahara from Senegal in the west to Nigeria in the east. The population in Western Africa has lost 99% of its former range.[11] It is possibly extinct in Ghana and Guinea.[1]

Lion area Habitat Area
(km2)		 Estimated
Population
Niokolo-Guinea (Senegal, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea Bissau and Mali) 90,384 >50[12]
W-Arly-Pendjari (Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger) 29,403 246–466[11]
Benin (except Pendjari) 3,152/1,742/4,171 3/18/19[12]
Kainji Lake (Nigeria) 4,171 23–63[12]
Yankari (Nigeria) 2,380 2[12]
Total 269–583

A study undertaken between 2006 and 2012 revealed that lions have declined even further in West Africa. Only about 400 lions (range: 250–587), including less than 250 mature lions, remained in the whole area between Senegal and Nigeria.[1] The largest West African lion population is found in the so-called WAP-Complex, a large system of protected areas formed mainly by W, Arli, and Pendjari National Parks in Burkina Faso, Benin, and Niger. The total population in this ecosystem comprises about 350 lions (range: 246–466). The other populations in West Africa consist of only a few individuals, and are probably declining. They are found in Niokolo-Koba National Park in Senegal and in two sites in Nigeria where only two small populations are left, one in Kainji Lake National Park and the other in Yankari Game Reserve. The population at Kainji Lake might be connected to that of the WAP-Complex. There are probably no lions left in the Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, or Ghana.[13][11]

Captive population

In 2006, there were 13 captive lion registered under the name P. l. senegalensis.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Template:IUCN
  2. ^ a b Bauer, H.; Van Der Merwe, S. (2004). "Inventory of free-ranging lions Panthera leo in Africa". Oryx. 38. doi:10.1017/S0030605304000055.
  3. ^ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". 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. 542. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  4. ^ Geptner, V. G., Sludskij, A. A. (1972). Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Vysšaia Škola, Moskva. (In Russian; English translation: Heptner, V.G., Sludskii, A. A., Komarov, A., Komorov, N.; Hoffmann, R. S. (1992). Mammals of the Soviet Union. Vol III: Carnivores (Feloidea). Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation, Washington DC).
  5. ^ a b c 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.
  6. ^ a b Bertola, L., de Iongh, H., Vrieling, K. (2011). Researchers confirm West and Central African lion is different from other lions. University of Leiden. Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML). Faculty of Science. Last Modified: 01-04-2011.
  7. ^ a b "A revised taxonomy of the Felidae" (PDF). Cat News. Special Issue 11: 76. {{cite journal}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help)
  8. ^ Haas, S.K.; Hayssen, V.; Krausman, P.R. (2005). "Panthera leo" (PDF). Mammalian Species. 762: 1–11. doi:10.1644/1545-1410(2005)762[0001:PL]2.0.CO;2.
  9. ^ 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.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  10. ^ Schoe, M., Sogbohossou, E. A., J. Kaandorp, H. d. I. (2010). Progress Report – collaring operation Pendjari Lion Project, Benin. Dutch Zoo Conservation Fund.
  11. ^ a b c Henschel, P.; Coad, L.; Burton, C.; Chataigner, B.; Dunn, A.; MacDonald, D.; Saidu, Y.; Hunter, L. T. B. (2014). Hayward, M. (ed.). "The Lion in West Africa is Critically Endangered". PLoS ONE. 9: e83500. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083500. PMC 3885426. PMID 24421889.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  12. ^ a b c d Riggio, J., Jacobson, A., Dollar, L., Bauer, H., Becker, M., Dickman, A., Funston, P., Groom, R., Henschel, P., de Iongh, H., Lichtenfeld, L., Pimm, S. (2012). The size of savannah Africa: a lion's (Panthera leo) view. Biodiversity Conservation 22(1): 17–35.
  13. ^ Henschel, P., D. Azani, C. Burton, G. Malanda, Y. Saidu, M. Sam, L. Hunter (2010). Lion status updates from five range countries in West and Central Africa. Cat News 52: 34–39.
  14. ^ Barnett, R., N. Yamaguchi, I. Barnes and A. Cooper (2006). The origin, current diversity and future conservation of the modern lion (Panthera leo). Proceedings of the Royal Society B (2006) 273: 2119–2125 doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3555 PMID 16901830

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Panthera leo senegalensis.
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