Asiatic Lion - Data, Pictures & Videos

[BorneanTiger]

Forward from this (https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-desert-...6#pid68866) about lions in Arabia and the Middle East: 

Like North Africa, Arabia isn't just a sandy desert (where lions did occur before the end of the 19th century: https://archive.org/stream/naturalistsli...+of+arabia, https://archive.org/stream/wildbeastsstu...the+desert, http://www.catsg.org/cheetah/05_library/...Arabia.pdf), but it also has mountains in its eastern, southern and western sides, particularly the Hijaz (the region of Mecca (https://web.archive.org/web/200711121323..._Lion.html) and Medina (https://www.al-islam.org/articles/infall...h-al-mufid) in western Saudi Arabia) and much of Oman and Yemen, places where, tellingly, either the cheetah or leopard, or both, had occurred: http://www.catsg.org/cheetah/05_library/...Arabia.pdf

Take a look at greenery the Dhofar Mountains of southern Oman, which has leopards and camels (which Indian lions prey on, as you can see above), and Oman's last cheetah was killed in 1977 near the town of Jibjat in the Dhofari region, which borders Yemen (http://www.catsg.org/cheetah/05_library/...Arabia.pdf), and as you know, it's not unusual for lions to coexist with cheetahs and leopards in Africa, which begs the question if the lion was also here: 

Ancient Yemeni or South Arabian relief showing both the lion and leopard attacking prey, in the Walters Art Museum: https://art.thewalters.org/detail/76505
"On the left side of this relief, an Asiatic lion attacks a gazelle, while a rabbit tries to jump away from the gazelle's forelegs. On the right, a leopard jumps down from rocks onto the back of an ibex; a small rodent flees the hoofs of the ibex. Birds in the branches of acacia trees observe the two scenes. The frieze was broken in two during the civil war in Yemen in 1962, and the longer right section was discolored by fire."

*This image is copyright of its original author

Pictures or lions and prey in Saudi Arabia: http://saudi-archaeology.com/subjects/lion/

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

In the 2nd Century BC, Agatharchides of Cnidos (Ancient Greece) said (https://snarla.wordpress.com/2007/08/31/arabian-lions/): "The lions of Arabia are less hairy and bolder. They are uniform in colour just are those in Babylonia. The sheen of their mane is such that the hair on the back of their neck gleams like gold. …the leopards are unlike those found in caria and Lycia. their bodies are large, and they are much better able to endure wounds and pain. In strength, moreover, they surpass the others by as much as a wild animal does a domesticated one."

As you might see from this (https://web.archive.org/web/200711121323..._Lion.html), just as there are plenty of Biblical references to the lion, there are plenty of references to it in Arab or Islamic literature. In particular, Muhammad's relatives Ali (who was also a Caliph: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ali-Muslim-caliph) and Hamza (who used to hunt lions around Mecca and wear lion-skin: https://web.archive.org/web/200711121323..._Lion.html) were given the title "Asad Allah" (Arabic for "Lion of God"), or even "Haydar" ('Lion' or 'Braveheart') due to their bravery in battles. If you search for "Ali lion" on Google, then you may get stuff like this ('Haider' = 'Haydar'): https://www.facebook.com/IAmShiaMuslim/p...235728237/

*This image is copyright of its original author

Legend has it that an Imam descended from Muhammad, that is Musa Al-Kadhim, met a lion north of Medina in the Hijaz (https://www.al-islam.org/articles/infall...h-al-mufid), and yes, the leopard had been recorded from that area (http://www.yemenileopard.org/files/cms/r...eopard.pdf).

Interesting video about the Arabian lion, which also features the leopard and cheetah:

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