Haile Selassie's Lions

photo by: Jean-François Paumier

His Excellency Haile Selassie (aka the Lion of Judah) had  seven  of his very own lions at one point.  It turns out they are a pretty special group.   In  Two Thousand and Twelve  it was determined that the DNA of those lions are of a genetically distinct population, now called the Addis Ababa Lions.  They are visually distinguished by their beautiful long dark manes that cover their head, neck, chest and belly.  They also have smaller skinnier bodies. 

Conservation is now a concern.  Lion populations have been declining in Ethiopia for some time and the  Addis Ababa lions  are known to exist in only  two  other regions, one of them being an elephant sanctuary south east of Addis.  They are particularly at risk because of their unique, beautiful manes.

"A great amount of genetic diversity in lions has most likely already been lost, largely due to human influences," says Susan Bruche of Imperial College London.  "Every effort should be made to preserve as much of the lion's genetic heritage as possible." 

 

Those original seven lions of His Excellency Haile Selassie's have bred and their number is now somewhere around  twenty .  They live in a pretty harsh zoo environment in Addis called the Lion Zoo.  I'm always conflicted about visiting them when I am in town.  They're remarkable to see in person, but the living conditions which include small entirely concrete cages, are heartbreaking.

It is understandable why many in and outside of the country might put the survival and comfort of these lions as a very low priority on their list of situations to address.  Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world.  There are so many children, seniors and whole nuclear family units living in conditions that are more heartbreaking than these zoo conditions.  There are unspeakable sorrows.   

Having said that, there  may be some good news  on the horizon for the lions at the Lion Zoo in Addis.  An organization called Born Free is setting up a Wildlife Rescue, Conservation and Education Centre outside of Addis Ababa and they are negotiating the potential relocation of Haile Selassie's lions at the Lion Zoo to the new large grassy naturalistic enclosures on the sanctuary grounds.

I wrote a bit about Born Free Ethiopia in this previous blog post.

 

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An article regarding the 'genetically distinct lion (Panthera leo) population from Ethiopia' can be found in The European Journal of Wildlife Research, here:  http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10344-012-0668-5