Rabat Zoo, Rabat

Rabat Zoo is a zoological park near Rabat in Morocco that was established in 1973. The first enclosures were built to house lions that were previously kept in the royal palace. These lions were thought to be descendants from Barbary lions.

Given that the Barbary lion is extinct in the wilderness, importance has been given to finding possible Barbary lions or descendants of the Barbary lion in captivity. So far, tests indicate the lions of the zoo are not pure Barbary lions, but descendants of the original Barbary lion. This is partly as members of the Moroccan royal family had kept lions that were captured from the Atlas Mountains.