(6 Aug 2025)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Prague, Czech Republic – 6 August 2025
1. Lion cub with their mother
2. Close-up of the father of cubs
3. Cub lying on the ground
4. SOUNDBITE (Czech) Jaroslav Hyjánek, Deputy Director of Dvur Kralove Safari Park:
"Essentially, the purpose of every zoo is to participate in international breeding programs. Without international breeding programs, there is no point in zoos existing at all."
5. Adult lion yawning, cubs
6. Various of cubs in inside area of enclosure, including interacting with dog through glass
7. SOUNDBITE (Czech) Jaroslav Hyjánek, Deputy Director of Dvur Kralove Safari Park:
"We are already in talks with the Israeli zoo, the newly established Negev Zoo in Beersheba. The zoo wants to become a new member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria and participate in the international breeding program for Barbary lions. So we know that the cubs, at least some of them, should leave here in the fall or spring for this new zoo in Israel."
8. Cubs
9. Close of the adult lion
STORYLINE:
LEADIN
Four Barbary lion cubs have been born at a zoo in the Czech Reublic.
Experts say it’s a vital contribution for a small surviving population of the rare lion that is extinct in the wild.
STORYLINE
Four Barbary lion cubs play in their outdoor enclosure at the Safari Park in Dvůr Králové.
The three females and one male soak up the sun alongside their mother, Khalila, and father, Bart.
The family group will be broken up soon, however, as the Czech zoo is part of an international endangered species program.
That means the cubs will be sent to other participating parks, including the Beersheba Zoo in Israel.
“Essentially, the purpose of every zoo is to participate in international breeding programs,” says Jaroslav Hyjánek, deputy director of Dvůr Králové Safari Park. “Without international breeding programs, there is no point in zoos existing at all.”
A majestic member of the northern lion subspecies, the Barbary lion once roamed freely across its native North Africa, including the Atlas Mountains.
A symbol of strength, it was almost completely wiped out due to human activity.
Many were killed by gladiators in Roman times, while overhunting and habitat loss contributed to their extinction.
The last known photo of a wild Barbary lion was taken in 1925, and the last confirmed individual was killed in 1942.
It’s believed the last small populations went extinct in the wild in the mid-1960s.
Fewer than 200 are estimated to live in captivity today.
Preliminary steps have been taken for a possible reintroduction of the Barbary lion to its natural habitat, according to Hyjánek.
He says that after initial talks with Moroccan authorities — who did not reject the idea outright — a conference of experts is planned in Morocco for late this year or early 2026 to determine whether the plan could move forward in one of the national parks in the Atlas Mountains.
Any reintroduction would face numerous bureaucratic and other obstacles. Since the lion has been absent from the environment for such a long time, the plan would need to ensure protection, a sufficient prey population, and cooperation and approval from local communities.
AP video by Stanislav Hodina
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/226886f5ee584607b23eadf50ba482ea
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in August 11, 2025, 6:05 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
