Marozi. Illustration and photo-reconstruction of the spotted lion Marozi. The marozi (spotted lion), which has been given the scientific name Panthera leo maculates, has been reported in the montane forests of East Africa. The marozi is variously claimed by zoologists and cryptozoologists to be a distinct race of lion adapted for a montane rather than savanna-dwelling existence, a rare natural hybrid of a leopard and lion, or an adult lion that retained its childhood spots. The animals, heretofore unknown by Western observers, came to the fore beginning in 1903, with sightings of darker and beautiful spotted lions in the Kenyan mountains. The natives called them the marozi. It is believed to have been smaller than a lion but slightly larger in size than a leopard and lacking any distinguishable mane. It has been reported in the wild and the skin of a specimen exists, but it has yet to be confirmed as either a separate species or subspecies. Marozi measure 1.7 m in length (with an 84