Barbary Lions Set for Historic Return: Morocco Considers Atlas Mountains Reintroduction

Born at the Dvur Králové Safari Park in the Czech Republic, four Barbary lion cubs will be sent to other parks, including the Beersheba Zoo in Israel, which are participating in the international program for endangered species. This program coordinates efforts for their survival in captivity. But these animals will not remain there permanently. The idea of reintroducing them into their natural habitat is beginning to emerge. The majestic member of the North African lion subspecies, the Barbary lion, once roamed freely in its native North Africa, including the Atlas Mountains.

While preliminary measures have been taken for a possible reintroduction of the Barbary lion into its natural habitat, it is still a "very distant future," said Jaroslav Hyjánek, the deputy director of Dvur Králové, to the Daily Mail. According to the official, discussions have been initiated with the Moroccan authorities, who have not rejected the idea of reintroducing them into their natural environment. He said that a conference of experts is planned in Morocco at the end of this year or the beginning of 2026 to decide whether it would be wise to move forward with such a plan in one of the national parks in the Atlas Mountains.

For Hyjánek, such an approach would be worth trying if it proves to be sustainable. "It is important to have such a vision for each animal. [...] Without it, the existence of zoos would have no meaning," he added. However, the reintroduction of the Barbary lion into its natural habitat poses a number of challenges, particularly bureaucratic ones. Given that this animal has been absent from the environment for so long, the plans should ensure its protection, a sufficient prey population, as well as the cooperation and approval of the local communities.

The last known photograph of a wild lion was taken in 1925. The last specimen was killed in 1942. The last small populations disappeared in the wild in the mid-1960s, it is specified.