White lion
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This article is about the animal. For the Czech order, see Order of the White Lion. For the band, see White Lion. For lion hill figure, see Whipsnade Zoo.
The white lion is a rare colour mutation of the Kruger subspecies of lion (Panthera leo krugeri) found in some wildlife reserves in South Africa and in zoos around the world. White lions are not a separate subspecies and are thought to be indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest recorded sighting in this region was in 1938. Regarded as divine by locals,[1] white lions first came to public attention in the 1970s in Chris McBride's book The White Lions of Timbavati. Up until 2009, when the first pride of white lions was reintroduced to the wild, it was widely believed that the white lion could not survive in the wild. It is for this reason that a large part of the population of white lions now reside in zoos.
White lions are not albinos. Their white colour is caused by a recessive gene known as the color inhibitor gene, distinct from the albinism gene. They vary from blonde to near-white. This coloration does not appear to disadvantage their survival. The white lions of the Global White Lion Protection Trust (GWLPT) have been reintroduced into their natural habitat and have been hunting and breeding successfully without human intervention for a significant amount of time. White lions in South Africa are currently being bred almost exclusively for hunting, but Linda Tucker (the founder of GWLP and author of The Mystery of the White Lions) and her team are trying to change the South African hunting laws.[clarification needed]
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[edit]Breeding white lions
A recessive gene gives white lions their unusual colors. A similar gene also produces white tigers. White lions can therefore be selectively bred for zoos, animal shows and wildlife parks. Such breeding involves inbreeding and can result in inbreeding depression (genetic defects, reduced fertility, and physical defects), although this has not yet been found to cause hind-limb paralysis or serious heart defects, which would indicate a severe level of inbreeding. People are concerned about white lions mating with lions of other alleles, due to possible extinction of the white lion. However, this is not valid as the offspring will inherit the recessive white gene and therefore make it possible to produce white offspring in a later generation. Some critics maintain that white lions should not be introduced in to the wild because of the inbreeding that has taken place in zoos and breeding camps. However, ethical reintroduction programs such as The Global White Lion Protection Trust have ensured through the use of scientific methodologies that the lions in their program are not inbred.
[edit]Kruger and Umfolozi white lions
In 1979, three litters containing white lions were recorded in Kruger National Park. In March, a female lion with three white cubs was observed near Tshokwane. In September, three white cubs (from two different lionesses) were seen. Another litter of white female cubs was captured from Kruger National Park and treated for sarcoptic mange. A white lion was observed in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve in Zululand.
[edit]White lions of unknown ancestry
- A white lion breeding program is currently underway at Inkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve in South Africa's Eastern Cape province.
- Four white lion cubs were born at the Papanack Park Zoo outside Ottawa. They have since been released into the main reserve with the other tawny lions.
- Continuous monitoring by the Wildlife Department at Sanbona has ensured their white lions are still wild, well, and free.
[edit]Jurques Zoo in France
In May 2007 four white lion cubs were born at Jurques Zoo in France. The cubs consisted of one male and three females. Each cub weighed approximately 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) at birth, and all four were in good health. However, they needed to be hand fed because their mother was not taking proper care of them.
[edit]Belgrade Zoo in Serbia
Belgrade zoo in Serbia has 12 white lions. In 2010 four were born by two female lions, each weighing about 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds).[2] Four additional white lions were born in April 2011.[3] The zoo was awarded in 2009 for its professional care for animals.
[edit]West Midland Safari Park
In 2004, four white lions arrived at West Midland Safari Park, the only white lions in the United Kingdom. Roland (or Rowland), the male, and three lionesses (Marin, Natasha, and JoAnn; spellings undocumented) settled into the Kingdom of the White Lion exhibit at the park very well. In 2008, one lioness had four cubs in the space of 9 hours, doubling the total to eight in England. (A documentary, in two parts, is available at YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vLXVe1QOEI, which shows the nursing mother giving birth and taking excellent care of her four cubs, and athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pogrcbuybRY, which shows the Park Manager and assistant rangers caring for them, naming them, and releasing them into the Park). The pride at the Park in Worcestershire is the only pride of white lion in the UK and is also breeding very well.
In late 2012, newspapers and bloggers reported that the four cubs born at West Midlands Safari Park, in 2008 (names: Caspar, Kiara, Lara and Toto; spellings undocumented) had been sold to perform in a Japanese circus.[4][5][6][7] It is alleged that the lions were given to British businessman Jim Clubb, who runs Amazing Animals, which also goes by the name Heythrop Zoological Gardens, in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The animal rightsorganization Lion Aid, Ltd., quoted Mr. Clubb as saying, first, "No comment," then, "I've no idea if the West Midland Safari Park knew they were going to the circus, that's a matter for them."[5] Bob Lawrence, the Head Keeper of West Midland Safari Park, who appears often in the YouTube videos raising the cubs, told the Worcester News, a local newspaper, that he "would never have supplied the four white lion cubs if he had known they would have ended up performing in a Japanese circus."[7]
[edit]Karachi Zoo
In 2012, the Karachi Zoo, Pakistan, purchased a juvenile male and juvenile female white lion. They are expected to breed.[citation needed]
[edit]Genetics
White lions are not albinos but are leucistic. They have pigment visible in the eyes (which may be the normal hazel or golden color, blue-gray, or green-gray), paw pads and lips. Blue-eyed white lions exist and may be selectively bred. The leucistic trait is due to the chinchilla mutation that inhibits the deposition of pigment along the hair shaft, restricting it to the tips. The less pigment there is along the hair shaft, the paler the lion. As a result, "white" lions range from blonde to near-white. The males have pale manes and tail tips instead of the usual dark tawny or black. The Latin name of Panthera leo krugeri is not limited to white lions. It applies to all subspecies of South African lions, the prides of which are mostly located in Kruger National Park and nearby game reserves.
White specimens usually have a yellowish-brown or golden eye color which is very similar to their tawny cousins, though some have bluish coloring like the white tiger.
Belgrade Zoo has become known as a center of natural reproduction of white lions. The first specimen arrived in 2005 and Belgrade became the first zoo in Europe to have the rare animals.[citation needed]
Six years later, the "Garden of Good Hope" boasts that his area currently has ten white lions.[citation needed]
[edit]In the wild within their natural endemic range
In 2003, the Global White Lion Protection Trust (WLPT) initiated the first ever reintroduction of white lions to their natural endemic range - the Greater Timbavati region in South Africa. Preliminary results have shown that the hunting success of the white lion pride was comparable to or higher than the wild prides ('normal' coloured / tawny) of the Timbavati itself (Turner 2005).[full citation needed] This pride of "all" white lions has shattered the misperception that white lions cannot hunt successfully (within their natural endemic habitat) due to a perceived lack of camouflage. The long-term objective of the WLT is to restore the natural balance by reintroducing an integrated pride/s of white and tawny lions within their endemic range. White lions are a unique contribution to the biodiversity of the region and are revered by the local communities that hold them sacred.[8]
[edit]See also
[edit]References
- ^ Limpopo celebrates white lion News24, 24 September 2009
- ^ Принове у београдском Зоо врту PTC, 14 August 2010
- ^ Bela lavica Maša omacila četiri prinove Blic Online, 21 April 2011
- ^ Captive Animals Protection Society (November 23rd, 2012). "Exposed: UK Zoo is Source of Inbred Lions used in Japanese Circus". Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ a b "West Midland Safari Park and the Japanese Kinoshita Circus - strange bedfellows?". LionAid.org. 27 November 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ Edwards, Anna (27 November 2012). "Fury as Rare White Lion Cubs Born in UK Safari Park are Sent to a Japanese Circus". Mail Online (England: Daily Mail and General Trust). Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ a b Kat, Pieter (2nd December 2012). "White lions, West Midland Safari Park and the Kinoshita Circus in Japan". LionAid.org. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^ Tucker, Linda "Mystery of the White Lions - Children of the Sun God" 2003 Npenvu Press. ISBN 0-620-31409-5
- McBride, Chris "The White Lions of Timbavati" 1977 E. Stanton. ISBN 0-949997-32-3
- McBride, Chris "Operation White Lion" 1981 St Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-58680-9
- Sanbona Wildlife Reserve
- Mutant Big Cats - Lions (with genealogy charts)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_lion
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