Lion

Scientific name: Panthera leo

Origin: Africa and Asia

Size: 1.6-2.5m

Diet: Carnivore

IUCN status: Vulnerable

Threats: Hunting for sport and food, loss of habitat to agriculture which increases conflict with humans

Zoos I have seen them: Asian lions in Dublin, Fota, Edinburgh, London, Chester, Chessignton World of Adventures and Rotterdam; African lions in Dublin (gone), Munich, Amsterdam, Belfast, Blair Drummond and Paris

Interesting fact: Contrary to common belief, the Barbary lion subspecies (Panthera leo leo) is not totally extinct, despite being wiped out from North Africa in the 1920s, but it still survives in a few zoos.