Four Barbary lion cubs have been born at a zoo in the Czech Republic, representing a significant contribution to the small remaining population of this rare species, which is extinct in the wild.
Three females and one male frolicked in their outdoor enclosure at Dvur Kralove Safari Park on Wednesday, enjoying companionship under the watchful eye of their parents, Halila and Bart.
That will soon change. The cubs will be sent to other members of the program, including the Beersheba Zoo in Israel, as part of the International Endangered Species Program, which coordinates efforts to keep them alive in captivity.
This may not be the end of the story for these animals.
Deputy Director of the Dvůr Králové Nature Reserve Jaroslav Hyjanek said that although initial steps have already been taken towards the possible reintroduction of the Barbary lion into its natural environment, it is still “a long way off”.
The Barbary lion, a subspecies of the northern lion, once roamed freely throughout its native territory of North Africa, including the Atlas Mountains.
They were hunted to near extinction by humans, many of them killed by gladiators during the Roman Empire, and overhunting and habitat destruction later contributed to their extinction in the wild.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
