Panthera leo leo

Barbary lion
A Barbary lion from Algeria, 1893
Conservation status
Extinct in the Wild (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Felidae
Genus:	Panthera
Species:	P. leo
Trinomial name
Panthera leo leo (Linnaeus, 1758)

The Barbary lion (Panthera leo leo) was a local group of lions which are now extinct in the wild {IUCN}. The Barbary lion was also called the Atlas lion and the Nubian lion. It was a local group, or perhaps subspecies, of the lion. It used to live in North Africa, from Morocco to Egypt.

Looks and behavior

The Barbary lion was large and heavy. Males weighed about , and females weighed about . Male lions were said to be about 2.7 to 3.1 metres (8 ft 10 in to 10 ft 2 in) long and females were about 2.1 to 2.7 metres (6 ft 11 in to 8 ft 10 in) long. Some scientists think that these sizes and weights are too large. These scientists think that the Barbary lion is probably the size of the lions found in East Africa.

The places where the Barbary lion lived did not have a lot of prey. These lions did not live in prides because of this. The main animals they hunted in the Atlas Mountains were the Barbary stag and the gazelle. The lions also ate cows and sheep raised by people.

These lions lived alone, or in pairs. The female Barbary lion raised her cubs until they were mature. This took about two years. After that, the cubs left their mother.