Why it represents the country
The Barbary lion is not named as a national animal in any law that could be found, but it is Morocco's clearest animal emblem. Two lions support the shield of the royal coat of arms, first adopted on 14 August 1957: the one on the left stands rampant in profile, while the one on the right turns its head to face the viewer.
The Atlas lion is also the name Moroccans give their national football team, the Atlas Lions. The nickname links the team to the big cats that once lived in the country's mountains.
The Barbary lion is tied to Moroccan royal history as well. Sultans, and later kings, kept lions in private menageries, many of them raised from cubs that Berber tribes of the Atlas Mountains presented as tributes. Those palace lions are the ancestors of the lions living at Rabat Zoo today.
About the animal
The Barbary lion is the name traditionally used for the lions of North Africa. Scientists no longer treat it as a separate subspecies: in the IUCN Cat Specialist Group's revised cat classification of 2017, North African lions belong to Panthera leo leo, together with the lions of West and Central Africa and Asia. Genetic studies show that North African lions were more closely related to Asian lions than to those of southern and eastern Africa.
Barbary lions were famous for their large manes. Observers describe the males' long, dark mane extending down the back and under the belly, but researchers point out that mane size and color are strongly affected by climate, so the mane alone cannot prove a lion's ancestry. Lions in general measure about 1.6 to 2.5 meters from nose to the base of the tail, and adult males weigh 150 to 225 kilograms.
Lions once lived across North Africa. By 1880 those in Morocco had retreated into the Atlas Mountains and the edges of the Sahara, and sightings became rare after the 1920s. A photograph taken from an airplane over the Atlas Mountains in 1925 is described as the last known image of a wild Barbary lion.
Like other lions, Barbary lions were social cats. Lions in general live in prides of related females with one or more males, the females do most of the hunting, and both sexes roar to mark their territory and keep in touch with each other.
Conservation
The Barbary lion is extinct in the wild. The last recorded shooting of a wild Barbary lion took place in 1942 near the Tizi n'Tichka pass in Morocco's High Atlas. Small groups may have survived unnoticed for some years afterward: a 2013 study estimated that lions disappeared from Morocco around 1948, possibly as late as 1965.
Because North African lions are now included in Panthera leo leo, there is no separate Red List entry for the Barbary lion. The lion as a species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, a status confirmed in the 2023 assessment, and the IUCN describes it as extinct from North Africa.
The lions at Rabat Zoo descend from 27 palace lions moved to a new, purpose-built zoo in Rabat in 1973. Because traits such as the mane are unreliable markers, it is hard to prove how much Barbary ancestry each lion carries, but the zoo describes them as direct descendants of the Atlas lions and has worked to breed them.
Fun facts
- Two Atlas lions have supported Morocco's royal coat of arms since it was introduced in 1957.
- Morocco's national football team is nicknamed the Atlas Lions.
- A photograph taken from an airplane over the Atlas Mountains in 1925 is the last known image of a wild Barbary lion.
Frequently asked questions
What is the national animal of Morocco?
The national animal of Morocco is the Barbary lion (a widely recognized national symbol, not set by law). Also called the Atlas lion, it is the lion of North Africa's mountains; two lions support the shield of Morocco's royal coat of arms, and the national football team is nicknamed the Atlas Lions.
Which country has the Barbary lion as its national animal?
The Barbary lion is the national animal of Morocco. The same species is also the national animal of Belgium, Czechia, Ethiopia, Kenya and the United Kingdom. The Barbary lion is also known as North African lion.
Why is the Barbary lion the national animal of Morocco?
No law naming the Barbary lion as a national animal has been found, but it is Morocco's clearest animal emblem: two lions have supported the shield of the royal coat of arms since it was first adopted on 14 August 1957. Moroccans also call their national football team the Atlas Lions, and the lion is tied to royal history, since sultans and later kings kept lions in palace menageries, the ancestors of the lions at Rabat Zoo today.
Is the Barbary lion extinct?
The Barbary lion is extinct in the wild, with the last recorded shooting of a wild one in 1942, though lions descended from the Moroccan royal collection still live at Rabat Zoo. North African lions are now grouped with other lions in Panthera leo leo, so there is no separate Red List entry, and the lion as a species is listed as Vulnerable.
Sources
- PLOS ONE (Black et al., 2013). Examining the extinction of the Barbary lion and its implications for felid conservation.
- University of Kent. Barbary lions: an opportunity for significant zoo-based conservation (project blog).
- Phys.org (AFP). Morocco mission to rescue last of the Atlas lions.
- Flags of the World (CRW Flags). Morocco.
- Endangered Wildlife Trust. Lions remain listed as Vulnerable in the 2023 Red List Assessment.
- Down To Earth. Largely Depleted: IUCN's new Green Status assessment for the lion in Africa and India.
- Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan). Panthera leo (lion).
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Library. Lions fact sheet: Physical characteristics.
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Library. Lions fact sheet: Taxonomy.
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
