sixth-extinction:
The top image is the only known photograph of...
The top image is the only known photograph of a live cape lion (Panthera leo melanochaitus). The picture was taken at Le Jardin des Plantes, Paris c. 1860. Cape lions were swiftly hunted to extinction after European settlement. The subspecies is thought to have gone extinct around 1860 - around the same time that this photo was taken.
Cape lions were distinguishable from other lions by their large size and by the male’s dark, thick mane that often extended down the stomach. They formerly inhabited South Africa and were most common in Cape Province.
Taxidermy mount is held at the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde in Stuttgart, Germany (they have a female, too). [x]
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