Abayadi lion

The Abayadi lion is a Panthera leo leo population found in Abayad. Its current range is restricted to the Las National Park and some areas in Abayad’s northeast. Historically, it inhabited the entirety of the peninsula, and is currency listed as endangered. A saddeningly comprehensive review of hunting and sighting records reveal that small groups survived throughout northern Abayad until the 1450s, and eastern Abayad until the mid 1500s.

Until 1602, the Abayadi lion was considered a distinct subspecies, but results from morphological and genetic analysis of samples published in 1596 showed that it does not differ significantly from samples collected in West and Northern Dihara, being more closely related to the Northern population. The Abayadi Lion is also called the Peninsular Lion, Bula Lion, and Corsair Lion. Along with the Bula bear, the Abayadi lion has historically been considered the region's apex predator.

Description
Specimens range in color from light to dark tawny, but tend to be darker. Males have longer manes than those seen in Diharan lions as well, and vary from 2.35 to 2.8 m long, with females averaging ar 2.5 m. Skull size varies from 30.85 to 37.23 cm. Most manes extend over the shoulder and under the belly to the elbows. Weight ranges from 270 to 300 kg. The color and size of the lions’ manes was long thought to be a sufficiently distinct morphological characteristic to accord a subspecific status to their population, but mane development varies with age and between individuals, and is therefore not a sufficient characteristic for subspecific identification. Mane size is not regarded as evidence for a lion being an Abayadi Lion; instead, results of mitochondrial DNA research support genetic distinctness of Abayadi lions in a unique haplotype in living and museum specimens of the animals. The presence of this haplotype is considered a reliable molecular marker to identify Abayadi lions. Abayadi lions may have developed long-haired, darker manes because of lower temperatures in the Bula Mountains and Abayad than in Northern and Central Dihara, particularly in winter. Results of studies conducted in Las National Park in Abayad as well as elsewhere indicate that ambient temperature, nutrition, and level of testosterone all influence the color and size of lions’ manes.

History
Historical accounts indicate that Abayadi lions once occurred naturally throughout the peninsula, from the Ishaq Delta in the northwest to the tip of the peninsula in the southeast, with numerous cave paintings found in the region depicting the beasts. Records of nobility during Abayad’s Shamal and Classical era hunting them have been well preserved as well, with Fathi I, the first king of a unified Abayad, being recorded as having particularly enjoyed the sport. The growth of human civilization along the Ishaq River Valley and Abayad’s coastlines by the beginning of the first millennium BC contributed to isolating lion populations throughout the peninsula. The Abayadi lion appeared frequently in Shamal and early Abayadi art and literature. Statues and statuettes of lions found at varying sites show that they were generally regarded as symbols of strength and as protectors, as well as a common symbol for warriors. Lion-headed figures and amulets have been excavated in tombs found across western Abayad as well as in the ruins of various settlements on Alkhadim, despite the fact that no known lion population existed there alongside humans. Lion hunting was the greatest mark of strength and honor for warriors and kings during the Classical era, although they came to be seen more as pests as time went on.

Sighting and hunting records from the 14-16th centuries show that the lions still inhabited both chains of the Bula Mountains during these periods, although the southern population was largely gone by the turn of the 15th. In the north, medium-sized populations persisted until the beginning of the 16th century. There, the lions occurred in the forested hills and mountains of the region, having long been eliminated along the coast and near human settlements. By the mid 1400s, the population had massively declined, as the ruling Merchant Families paid bounties for anyone who brought in animal hides. By the time the Abayadi Republic instituted its environmental reforms to preserve the nation’s fauna and symbols, only a small pocket remained in the hillish hinterlands at the foot of the Northern Bula mountains in the country’s northeast. This region was turned into the Las National Park in order to ensure the lions’ survival, and although bounties for the lions’ pelts were rescinded, locals continued killing them outside the preserve to protect their livestock. The last lion spotted outside the the park was in the early 1550s.

In the early 16th century, when the lions were no longer common, they were sighted in pairs or small family groups consisting of a male and female lion with one or two cubs. Between 1430 and 1530, sightings of wild lions mostly involved solitary animals, pairs, and family units. Analysis of these sightings indicate that the lions retained living in prides even under duress, although the size of prides has returned to ones similar to ones in Dihara within the safety of the Las National Park. When certain prey species became rare in the mountains due to human predation, the lions began preying increasingly on herds of livestock that were carefully guarded by well-armed hunters. They were also known to prey on boar.

Conservation
In the Las National Park, and area of more than 1,500 km2 was declared as a sanctuary for Abayadi Lion conservation in 1456. This sanctuary and surrounding areas are the only habitats supporting the population. After 1555, a surrounding sanctuary was established covering an area of 300 mk2 where human activity is not permitted. In the surrounding sanctuary, only nearby Tinifghani groups have the right to take their livestock for grazing. The lions inhabit the forest habitat in the region as their ancestors did, in the two hill systems of Qutik and Baran that comprise the largest tract of forest in the park. The population recovered from the brink of extinction to 411 individuals by 1600. In that year, approximately 105 lions lived outside the officially set-apart areas, representing a quarter of the entire population. Dispersing sub adults established new territories outside their natal prides, and as a result the satellite lion population has increased steadily since 1585. By 1605, the total population had grown to an estimated 532 individuals, inhabiting an area of 7,000 km2 in the region. In 1606, a lioness and sub-adult were seen in villages about 70 km from the park. Apparently on a hunting mission, they killed several goats at a nearby farm, causing some local fear from the villagers for their livestock and themselves.