Interest in puppies of ‘Anatolian Lion’ on the rise

AKSARAY

Interest in the Aksaray Malaklısı, an Anatolian dog breed, has increased with the arrival of summer and the start of the grazing season in pastures.

Also known as the “Anatolian lion,” the Aksaray Malaklısı receives great demand from Turkey and abroad.

The puppies of this breed find an owner within a very short time.

Muammer Tıpırdamaz, the Aksaray Malaklısı Breed Improvement Association (AKMID) chairman, said that those who want to adopt the puppies of these dogs order puppies while they are still in their mothers’ womb.

“This year, demands started very early. Some 95 percent of the puppies we have were sold. Now we are waiting for the birth of dogs,” he said.

The breed is unique to the Central Anatolian province of Aksaray and resemble lions with their leg and foot thickness, large skulls, saggy lips and grandeur.

Tıpırdamaz said these dogs have become more popular recently and demand was especially on the rise for puppies.

Stating the price for puppies rose to between 2,500 and 5,000 liras, he said, “There has been great demand in puppies recently.

The price of adult and trained dogs raised on the farm varies from 10,000 to 60,000 liras.

The Aksaray Municipality gifted a Malaklı to the president last year, prompting the Aksaray Malaklısı to be more popular.

Now breeders cannot meet the demand from buyers.

Large-sized shepherd dogs such as Sivas Kangalı, Akbaş and Aksaray Malaklısı generally used to be preferred for the protection of herd from wolf attacks in the rural part of Turkey due to its size and loyalty.

Rising up to 1 meter and 70 centimeters when standing on two feet, Aksaray Malaklısı, is mentioned in the travel book of Evliya Çelebi, an Ottoman explorer, as “I saw a lion in Anatolia.”