West African lion

West African lion
Male West African lion from Pendjari National Park, Benin.
West African lioness from Mefou National Park, Cameroon.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Panthera
Species: Panthera leo
Subspecies: P. l. senegalensis
Trinomial name
Panthera leo senegalensis
(Meyer, 1826)
Lions now roam in just 1.1% of their historic range in West Africa.

The West African lion (Panthera leo senegalensis)[2] was considered a lion subspecies native to Central and Western Africa.[3][4][5] Based on the work of Barnett et al. (2014), the International Union for Conservation of Nature's SSC Cat Specialist Group proposed subsuming populations of lions in Central, Western and Northern Africa to Panthera leo leo, but this is based only on Mitochondrial DNA, and it could reflect female philopatry.[1]

Already in 2004, the Senegal lion population was small and fragmented, and estimated to have comprised 1,800 individuals in all of Western and Central Africa, at most. It was therefore considered Regionally Endangered.[4]

Genetics

Results of genetic research indicate that the Western and Central African lions form a different clade of lions, and are perhaps more related to Asiatic lions than to lions from Southern or Eastern Africa.[3] Since West African lions are considered to be regionally endangered, their genetic distinctiveness is of particular interest.[4]

In a comprehensive study about the evolution of lions, 357 samples of 11 lion populations were examined, including some hybrid lions. The hybrids were descended from Southern African lions (Panthera leo bleyenberghi or Panthera leo krugeri)[6] captured in Angola and Zimbabwe, and apparently Central or West African lions. Results indicated that four "Atlas lions" from Morocco did not exhibit any unique genetic characteristics. The Moroccan cats shared mitochondrial haplotypes (H5 and H6) with Senegal lions, 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.[7][8]

Moreover, genetic samples from Eastern (Panthera leo azandica and Panthera leo massaica) and Southern African lions was quite similar[6] though a genetic and phenotypic analysis on captive Addis Ababa lions showed that they were distinct from wild lions.[9]

Therefore, if the lion subspecies were reclassified according to close relationships, then the Senegal, Barbary and Asiatic subspecies would be grouped to Panthera leo leo, and lions from Eastern and Southern Africa would be grouped as Panthera leo melanochaita, but these taxonomic questions are not yet solved.[1]

Characteristics

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.[3][5] In the area of Pendjari National Park, almost all males are maneless, or have very weak manes.[10]

Asiatic lions are similar in size than Central African lions.[11][12] Male Asiatic lions weigh 160–190 kg (350–420 pounds), and females weigh 110–120 kg (240–260 pounds).[6]

Distribution and population status

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

The Senegal lion is distributed in Western Africa, south of the Sahara, from Senegal in the west, to the Central African Republic in the east. It is rare in Western Africa and may be critically endangered in this region.[7] In 2004, there were probably only 450–1,300 lions left there. In Central Africa, there were about 550–1,550. In both regions, the area inhabited by lions had been reduced until 2004 to less than 15% of the historic range.[4]

A study undertaken between 2006 and 2012, revealed that lions have declined even further in West Africa. Only about 400 lions (range: 250–587) remained in the whole area between Senegal and Nigeria. The largest population of West African lions is found in the so-called WAP-Complex, a large system of protected areas formed mainly by Arli, Pendjari, and W National Parks in the states of 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 and Ghana.[13][14]

The West African lion population is estimated at about 400 individuals, including less than 250 mature lions.[1]

In Central Africa, a large population of 100-400 lions is found in Bénoué ecosystem in Cameroon. Smaller populations in exist in Waza National Park in Cameroon and Zakouma National Park in Chad. Within the Central African Republic, there are perhaps only about 150-500 lions left. Other estimates count 1,252 lions within the country, but numbers in Central Africa are generally believed to be not reliable.[4][15]

Lion area Habitat Area
(km2) 		Estimated
Population
Niokolo-Guinea (Senegal, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea Bissau and Mali) 90,384 >50[15]
W-Arly-Pendjari (Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger) 29,403 246 - 466[16]
Benin (except Pendjari) 3,152/1,742/4,171 3/18/19[15]
Kainji Lake (Nigeria) 4,171 32[15]
Yankari (Nigeria) 2,380 2[15]
Bénoué Complex (Cameroon) 14,682 200[15]
Waza National Park (Cameroon) 1,452 17[15]
Zakouma Region (Chad) 133,408 75-400[4][15]
Central African Republic 339,418 150-1,252[4][15]
Western South Sudan (South Sudan) 331,834 375[15]
Total 1,145-2,834

Some lion populations in Central Africa are outside the range originally described for the West African lion. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, there are about 175 lions in the area of the Garamba National Park, and 60 in Virunga National Park. The latter form a contiguous population of about 210 with lions in Uganda.[4][15][17] These lions fall within the range of the Northeast Congo lion.

Captive population

In 2006 there were 13 captive animals registered under the name P. l. senegalensis.[7] However, these lions, which are mainly kept in Australian zoos, are in fact not West African lions in the strict sense, but African lions in a broader sense. So there is no known West African lion population in captivity, outside West Africa.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Henschel, P.; Bauer, H.; Sogbohoussou, E. & Nowell, K. (2016). "Panthera leo (West Africa subpopulation". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2016.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature.
  2. ↑ Wozencraft, W.C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. 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.
  3. 1 2 3 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. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02500.x.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Bauer, H.; Van Der Merwe, S. (2004). "Inventory of free-ranging lions Panthera leo in Africa". Oryx. 38. doi:10.1017/S0030605304000055.
  5. 1 2 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.
  6. 1 2 3 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.
  7. 1 2 3 Barnett, R., N. Yamaguchi, I. Barnes and A. Cooper (2006). The origin, current diversity and future conservation of the modern lion (Panthera leo). Proc. R. Soc. B (2006) 273: 2119–2125 doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3555 PMID 16901830
  8. ↑ 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 2572142Freely accessible. PMID 18989457.
  9. ↑ Bruche, S.; Gusset, M.; Lippold, S.; Barnett, R.; Eulenberger, K.; Junhold, J.; Driscoll, C. A.; Hofreiter, M. (2012). "A genetically distinct lion (Panthera leo) population from Ethiopia". European Journal of Wildlife Research. 59 (2): 215–225. doi:10.1007/s10344-012-0668-5.
  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. ↑ Pocock, R. I. (1939). The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1. Taylor and Francis Ltd., London. Pp. 199–222.
  12. ↑ 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).
  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. ↑ 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.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 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.
  16. ↑ Henschel P, Coad L, Burton C, Chataigner B, Dunn A, et al. (2014). The Lion in West Africa Is Critically Endangered. PLoS ONE 9(1): e83500
  17. ↑ Sunquist, M. E. & F. C. Sunquist (2009). "Family Felidae (Cats)". In D. E. Wilson & R. A. Mittermeier. Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 137 ff. ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1.

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