|
|
|
|
Rare Barbary lion found starving in abandoned, bankrupt circus, June 28, 1999 *****THE NEW YORK TIMES***** When Elsayed Hussein Akef fled Mozambique in 1996, abandoning his bankrupt Akef Egyptian Circus and leaving its lions, tigers, horses, dogs and last sick python to starve, he must not have realized what he had left behind. Nor did the Mozambicans and Britons who saved the animals. It was only when three of the lions were safe in pens here at the Hoedspruit Research and Breeding Center for Endangered Species that someone realized the Giepie, the huge male with he rich black mane running the length of his underbody, did not look much like other lions. Veterinarians now say he is one of the few Barbary lions left in the world. The last one in the wild was shot in 1921 in Morocco, and for a few months, there were claims that Giepie was the only Barbary left. But the excitement over finding him led small zoos and circuses to pipe up, "Hey - we've got a lion that look like that." One of them even agreed to ship its lioness to South Africa, and now the possibility exists that the subspecies can be bred back into viability. Barbary lions are the stuff of legend. It was Barbaries, captured in Rome's north African colonies, that ate the Christians in the Colosseum. Haile Selassie had several in his court when he ruled Ethiopia. Scientists say the whole idea of a lion "species" is rather tricky. Species are usually separated by the ability to mate, but a lion and a tiger can produce a cub, just as a donkey and a horse can produce a mule. In Africa, lions are thought of as one species, but there are several types that seem not to interbreed in t he wild. Barbaries may be one, but they were wiped out of the wild before they could be studied. A Barbary is based on its look, the big thick mane going from its belly to its groin," said Peter Rogers, the Hoedspruit center's veterinarian. How Giepie (pronounced HEEpee) got here is a roustabout romance in itself. Between 1993 and 1996, the Akef circus wandered slowly down Africa, from Djibouti to Zimbabwe, stopping to put on its dog and pony acts, contortionists and snake charmers for audiences paying pennies. But it often camped for months without performing, and conservationists believe it was really a front for smuggling endangered species. Six chimpanzees, several pythons and some rare grey parrots were seized from it, and documents showed that it was buying chimps from Zairian smugglers. When officials tried to make arrests, Akef claimed diplomatic immunity and got Egyptian officials to intervene for him. In Zimbabwe, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals finally cracked down in late 1995, confiscating three dying pythons in a raid. The circus, ordered deported, slipped into Mozambique and camped in a park in the capital, Maputo. In June 1996, Elena Son, manager of a tour business, visited and found Akef long gone and his workers were struggling to feed the animals and themselves. One tiger was dying, and the lions and horses were so thin their ribs stuck out. Son paid to buy them meat, and brought in Animal Defenders, a British animal rights group. It found homes in South African game parks, pushed through the complex paperwork, fended off a nightclub owner trying to seize them for bad debts and trucked them to Hoedspruit. Here, released into 28-acre enclosures, the lions were scared even of rustling leaves. "They didn't know how to walk in the bush," said Lente Roode, the center's owner. News of the rescue reached the ears of other zoos. A bankrupt safari park in Italy offered its two Barbary looking lions, Arturo and his sister, Sissi, if the center would pay the fare. The price, $16,000, broke Roode's budget, but she managed it. Arturo is sterile, but Sissi may be bred with Giepie. Their meeting has been delayed while they get to know each other through the fence. Between lions, a failure in sex appeal means a first date may end in a fatal fight.
|