Cape Lion
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? Cape Lion Conservation status: Extinct (1860)
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Trinomial name
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| Panthera leo melanochaitus Ch. H. Smith, 1842 |
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The Cape Lion Panthera leo melanochaitus is an extinct subspecies of lion.
Cape "black-maned" Lions ranged along the Cape of Africa on the southern tip of the continent. The Cape Lion was not the only subspecies living in South Africa, and its exact range is unclear. Its stronghold was Cape Province and around Cape Town. The last Cape Lion seen in Cape Province was killed in 1858. However, in 2000, specimens were found in captivity in Russia and brought to South Africa for breeding. [1]