The Addis Ababa Zoo in Ethiopia is home
to the descendants of a collection of lions that belonged to the late emperor
Haile Selassie, revered by the Rastafarian movement. Unlike other lions, these
big cats have dark manes that extend all the way to their chest and belly. Now
researchers say their genes also set them apart.
A group of scientists led by Susann
Bruche, of Imperial College London, studied the DNA of eight males and seven
females in the zoo. The team found the zoo lions are genetically distinct from
all other existing lions. In total, the zoo houses 20 lions that belonged to
the collection of Emperor Selassie who founded the zoo in 1948 with seven
founding lions (five males and two females); these were said to have been
captured in south-western Ethiopia though their geographical origin remains controversial.
The males currently at Addis Ababa Zoo
are thought to be the last lions with such thick, dark manes. Wild populations
are believed to have vanished due to overhunting for the manes, the researchers
said, but some sightings of lions with similar locks have been reported in the
east and northeast
of Ethiopia.
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