There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
On the weight of the male West African lions, I make a rough calculation using the first and the last weights reported from the field, and I achieved a figure of c.170 kg on average, as far I remember. I am going to calculate it again just to be sure, but if we take this figure, they are slightly smaller than the populations of the East Africa and slightly larger than those from India, which have an average of 160 kg, acording with the webpage of Gir.
The figure of 196 kg is impressive, but at the same time interesting as it is about the same than the heaviest male Indian lion on scientific record (190 kg). However, this last figure do have stomach content, as the lions were baited and even one of them (the largest, I think) vomited part of the bait during its recovery. I will expand this last point in the Asian lion topic.
Based on this, and taking in count that the size diference between these two population practically does not exist, I hypotesize that the average and maximum weights of the Barbary lions (the middle population) were around the same figures (or slightly higher, in the best case), like c.170 kg on average and c.200 kg on maximum. Besides, as far I know, the prey density and prey size in the north of Africa has never been high.