Death of the last confirmed Cape lion

Background. The evidence packet for this event rests on a single sourced fact: a two-year-old stuffed specimen, bought as a small cub in 1876, is held by Emil Holub in Holice, Czech Republic. The legacy record's assertion that the last confirmed Cape lion died in 1878, on 1 January, in Cape Town, cannot be confirmed from the supplied passages and is retained only as an unverified legacy claim.

Museum Holdings. Physical evidence of the Cape lion exists in museum collections. The African Museum of Dr. Emil Holub in Holice, Czech Republic, holds a two-year-old stuffed specimen bought as a small cub in 1876. This specimen was identified as a Cape lion in 2009. Other institutions, including the Swedish Museum of Natural History and the Zoological Museum Amsterdam, also hold Cape lion remains.

Legacy Uncertainty. The legacy record claims the last confirmed Cape lion died on 1 January 1878 in Cape Town, South Africa. However, the supplied passages do not support this specific date or location. The only source-supported facts are the existence of a specimen from 1876 and its identification in 2009.