"Tower Lions" May Help Resurrect Extinct African Breed?

James Owen
for National Geographic News

April 4, 2008

An extinct breed of lion from North Africa was held at the Tower of London in medieval times, a new study shows.

A pair of skulls unearthed from the tower's moat in the 1930s belonged to Barbary lions, a subspecies that has since died out in the wild.

The discovery raises the possibility that descendants of Barbary lions may still survive in captivity, which could help efforts to resurrect the dark-maned breed, researchers say.

The lions' North African roots were revealed by analysis of mitochondrial DNA, a genetic marker passed between females.

What's more, the DNA reveals that the two animals represent the oldest confirmed Barbary lion remains in the world, the study team said.

The findings are reported in the current issue of the journal Contributions to Zoology.

Exploited Population

Radiocarbon dating of the lion skulls in 2005 indicated that the two male cats first came to the tower in the 13th century, the oldest being dated to between A.D. 1280 and 1385.

(Read "Medieval Lion Skulls Reveal Secrets of Tower of London 'Zoo'" [November 3, 2005].)

At that time the palace housed the Royal Menagerie, a diverse collection of exotic animals owned by the reigning monarch.

Carcasses of dead animals from the menagerie were likely thrown into the moat, where they became buried in silt, said study team member Richard Sabin of the Natural History Museum in London.

The environment preserved the lion skulls remarkably well, allowing genetic samples to be taken, Sabin said.

The DNA analysis supports historical evidence suggesting that Barbary lions had an ancient presence in Europe, he added.

"We know that the Romans were exploiting the short distance across the Mediterranean to North Africa to take animals for gladiatorial games and exhibitions," he said. (See a map of the region.)

"The Barbary lion population had been exploited for at least a couple of thousand years. It was quite easy for people to nip over from Italy, Spain, and Portugal to pick them up."

The last reported Barbary lion in the wild was shot in the Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa in 1922, Sabin said.

Since then, hopes of reviving the subspecies have focused on captive lions, especially those showing signs of the Barbary's most distinctive feature: a noticeably long, dark mane.

"Because we have these good genetic samples from known purebred Barbary lions, we can compare DNA from those ancient specimens to the ones that potentially are still alive in zoos today," Sabin said.

"There may be descendents of them still in the U.K. in zoos and wild-animal parks, but this is something that would need to be ascertained through genetic study."

Opening Doors

Nobuyuki Yamaguchi of the University of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit is leading efforts to trace potential Barbary survivors.

Yamaguchi, who co-authored the new study, says that to date no living Barbary lions have been confirmed in captivity, despite various rumors to the contrary.

While he says the Tower of London find doesn't directly assist his search, he hopes it might help widen the net.

"For example, once many people know that a DNA test would be available for checking if a lion might be a Barbary, museums and zoos may want to carry out the test," he said.

"In this context, our recent works can provide the key if people would like to open the door."

Lions have been known to breed well in captivity—even when kept in unsuitable conditions, such as those before the 20th century—Yamaguchi noted.

"Therefore, it is natural for people to consider that there must be some zoo lions today that carry the Barbary blood," he said.

The long-term aim, he added, is to return the lion to part of its former range in North Africa.