Examining the Extinction of the Barbary Lion and Its Implications for Felid Conservation

Abstract

Estimations of species extinction dates are rarely definitive, yet declarations of extinction or extirpation are important as they define when conservation efforts may cease. Erroneous declarations of extinctions not only destabilize conservation efforts but also corrode local community support. Mismatches in perceptions by the scientific and local communities risk undermining sensitive, but important partnerships. We examine observations relating to the decline and extinction of Barbary lions in North Africa. Whilst the extinction predates the era of the scientific conservation movement, the decline is relatively well documented in historical records. Recently unearthed accounts suggest Barbary lions survived later than previously assumed. We use probabilistic methods to estimate a more recent extinction date for the subspecies. The evidence presented for a much later persistence of lions in North Africa, including generations when sightings were nil, suggests caution when considering felid populations as extinct in the wild. The case raises the possibility that captive animals descended from the Moroccan royal collection are closer contemporaries to wild Barbary lions. Furthermore, our results highlight the vulnerability of very small lion populations and the significance of continued conservation of remnant lion populations in Central and West Africa.

An assessment of the genetic diversity of the founders of the European captive population of Asian lion (Panthera leo leo), using microsatellite markers and studbook analysis

“…During the global mass extinction of megafauna in the late Pleistocene, the lion's range was severely reduced and it disappeared from Europe around 2,000 years ago, owing to human hunting and habitat loss. The lion's range was further reduced during the 19 th and 20 th centuries, when populations were extirpated in the Middle East and North Africa (Antunes et al, 2008, Barnett et al, 2006b, Black et al 2013. A remnant population of lions has been isolated in the Gir Forest, Kathiawar, Northwest India, which is the only surviving wild population of the putative subspecies Panthera leo persica.…”

Assessing uncertainty in sighting records: an example of the Barbary lion

“…We present a formal structure to elicit expert opinions on sighting validity. To demonstrate this questioning technique we use the sighting record of the extinct North African Barbary lion ( Panthera leo leo ), for which a considerable amount of sighting data have recently been amassed from Algeria to Morocco ( Black et al, 2013 ). The quality of these sightings varies from museum skins, to oral accounts elicited many years after the original sighting, some of which have proved controversial.…”

“…However, extensive persecution in the 19th century reduced populations to remnants in Morocco in the west, and Algeria and Tunisia in the east. The last evidence for the persistence of the Barbary lion in the wild is widely considered to be the animal shot in 1942 on the Tizi-n-Tichka pass in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains ( Black et al, 2013 ). However, later sightings have recently come to light from the eastern Mahgreb that push the time of last sighting to 1956.…”

“…However, later sightings have recently come to light from the eastern Mahgreb that push the time of last sighting to 1956. Previous analysis of these sighting records (where all sightings are considered valid) suggest that Barbary lions actually persisted in Algeria until 1958, ten years after the estimated extinction date of the western (Morocco) population ( Black et al, 2013 ).…”

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“…Not only is there a need for an objective framework evaluating ambiguous sightings into the well-established Bayesian model (Solow 1993), which assumes that all sightings are certain. These methods are then applied to the sighting record of the extinct North African Barbary lion (Panthera leo leo) for which a considerable amount of sighting data has recently been amassed from Algeria and Morocco (Black et al 2013). The quality of these sightings varies from museum skins, to oral accounts elicited many years after the original sighting, some of which have proved controversial.…”