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| 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
