landmark lion study in UK

Doha researcher contributes to landmark lion study in UK
Publish Date: Saturday,5 April, 2008, at 01:52 AM Doha Time

Yamaguchi with a model of a lion’s skull

Staff Reporter

A RESEARCHER at Qatar University (QU) has contributed to a landmark study which recorded the first genetic evidence that England’s first lions hailed from North Africa where the species is extinct in the wild today.Nobuyuki Yamaguchi, assistant professor of Animal Ecology at QU’s Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, was a member of a team of researchers from London’s Natural History Museum and Oxford University.

The mission centred on two lion skulls found during excavations at the Tower of London. The lions were part of the Royal Menagerie, a collection of animals also including leopards, bears and other exotic animals that were probably gifts to English monarchs.

The examination of the mitochondrial DNA of well preserved skulls and analysis of the jawbones of the two lions revealed that they shared unique genes with the North African Barbary lion.

The link was further strengthened by the comparison of the skulls with Asiatic and North African Barbary lion skulls that are preserved in natural history collections in the UK and Europe.

Radiocarbon dating of the skulls showed them to be from the 13th to 15th centuries, making them the earliest confirmed lion remains in Britain since the extinction of the Pleistocene cave lion. According to Yamaguchi, historic records show that lions could be found from North Africa through the Middle East to India until the growth of civilisations along the Egyptian Nile and Sinai Peninsula almost 4,000 years ago stopped gene flow, isolating the lion populations.

“Western North Africa was the nearest region to Europe to sustain lion populations until the early 20th century, making it an obvious and practical source for mediaeval merchants. Apart from a tiny population in northwest India, lions have been practically exterminated outside sub-Saharan Africa by the turn of the 20th century,” he explained.The Barbary Lion, which lived in North Africa from Morocco to Egypt, is now extinct in the wild. There are about 40 in captivity in Europe, with less than a 100 in zoos around the world.

Commenting on the study, Yamaguchi observed that through such research he is seeking to improve the quality of his teaching which in turn will have great benefits for his students at QU in terms of raising their level of interest in the sciences and in research. “Good research really helps teaching and more efforts need to be injected in supporting it,” he said.'>

Indian Lions Moving out of Gir Sanctuary

Indian Lions Moving out of Gir Sanctuary
It has been reported from India that at least 6 lions have recently left The Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary and relocated themselves some 50 miles to the Amreli region. There have been increasing reports of lions, sometimes in prides, roaming outside the boundaries of Gir Forest.
As the lion population in Gir grows, coupled with increasing encroachment into the park iteslf, it is inevitable that the lions will succumb to that pressure, and start to wander outside the sanctuary. New Habitat Required The pressue on Gir heightens the need for new habitat to be designated for the Asiatic lions. There are roughly 359 Asiatic Lions living in Gir forest today. However the conservation success over the last 50 years means that there are now more lions than there is room in Gir. Many of the Lions have been straying outside the sanctuary due to the population pressure, so the State and Central Government are planning to add 300 sq. km more area to the existing 1460 sq. km. In last two decades two regions have been added to the area of National Park, but there is now urgent need for a further expansion. There have also been plans made to create a second reserve, which would help protect the still severely endangered lions from outbreaks of disease, but these plans seems to have stalled at the moment.

Cub Mania in Japan:

Cub Mania in Japan:
Zoos in Japan are celebrating the arrival of newborn lion and cheetah cubs at the beginning of a warm spring.
One rare lion cub, born on 11th February, made his first public appearance on the 21st of March.
The precious Indian lion cub, also known as the Asiatic lion, was very weak and put in an infant incubator immediately and the zoo has decided to raise the cubs.
Two cubs were born but the sibling died after the birth.
Scampering around, the seven-week-old Indian lion is being treated like the "prince" of the zoo because he is the first male cub in eight years.
On Wednesday, he was named "Raja" deriving from the Hindi word for "King".
The cub rested its front paws on the milk bottle as proud father Shunichiro Tajima fed the cub like he does everyday.
The rare cub has been nurtured by the zoo keeper and have grown to a healthy 5198 grammes.
In the past eight years, male cubs were born but none of them survived. Raja is the proud survivor of the Zoorasia. His older brother is housed at Ueno Zoo at Tokyo.
The cubs are particularly special because they are so rare - there are barely 500 of the species still in existence - 300 in the wild and 200 in captivity.

Japan goes ga-ga over baby lion.

Japan goes ga-ga over baby lion.
Monday, 31 March, 2008
Meet Japan's latest animal star. The five-kilo baby lion-cub, born only a month ago on February 11, is greeted with squeals and coos from the crowds at the Zoorasia Yokohama zoological gardens at every public appearance he makes. "He was so cute. I cannot say anything more," said 33-year-old Yuri Horiuchi, one of hundreds of visitors at one of his twice a week public showings, who jokingly added that the lion cub was cuter than her two daughters. "I am glad that I can take many photographs of the baby lion before he grows much, much bigger in just a short time," added 10-year-old Natsumi Yoshida. While some other animals may pout at all the fuss surrounding him, this little cub may deserve most of it. Rare species The tiny lion cub is of a rare subspecies of lions called the Asiatic lion. Only 350 individuals are known to survive in the wild and are distinct from the African lions seen in most zoos. The last of the Asiatic lions now mostly live in the state of Gujarat, India therefore going by the name of "Indian lion" in Japan. Once king of the animal kingdom from the Mediterranean to the borders of Bangladesh, this big cat has been hunted for sport, killed by farmers trying to protect their livestock and basically chased from their habitats by humans to the point of being now critically endangered. For the zoo keepers in Yokohama, 45 kilometres outside the Japanese capital Tokyo, this new born pussy cat deserves the full star treatment. It is, after all, also the first Asiatic lion cub born country. "His mother is not only unaccustomed to raising a child but also a bit too old as a lion to raise a child. Yet to be named So after discussions, we decided to raise him by ourselves because it would enhance his survival probability," said Shunichiro Tajima, one of the zoo keepers in charge of the lion cub. But while it is just about starting taking baby steps to being the carnivore it is, with its first small morsel of horse meat eaten recently, this kitty is still just a little ball of fur and prefers to lap up specially-treated cat's milk from its trainer. It has, however, no name yet. Zoo officials have set aside three already – Suraj, Dost and Raja (meaning respectively "sun", "friend' and "king" in Hindi) but are asking the public to make the final decision in a vote on March 31st.