[FEL-L] All white lions in captivity descend from same cat

[BigCatSimba at aol.com]

_All white lions in captivity descend from same cat_ 
(http://bigcatnews.blogspot.com/2007/05/all-white-lions-in-captivity-descend.html)  

 
Gulamabbas Mohamedali
Sunday News; Sunday,May 20, 2007 @00:06

A RARE colour mutation of the Kruger subspecies of lion, the Panthera Leo 
krugeri is occasionally found in wildlife reserves in South Africa and appears as 
a White Lion. These white lions are not a separate subspecies and they have 
never been common in the wild. They first came to public attention in the 1970s 
in Chris Mc Bride's book, The White lions of Timbavati, though regarded as 
divine by locals. 

White lions remain rare in the wild and only occur when two lions carrying 
the mutant gene are mated. They are deliberately bred for colour in zoos where 
the greatest population of white lions is found. 

Chinchilla or colour inhibitor, is caused by a recessive gene leading to 
white colour, they are not albino lions. 

Because of their colour variation from blonde through near white, they have a 
disadvantage in nature as they are highly visible and give away to their prey 
and make them an attractive target for hunters. A white tiger is also 
produced by the similar gene hence they are selectively bred for zoos. 

Genetic defects, reduced fertility and physical defects are results of 
inbreeding of close relatives for producing a white lion, although this has not yet 
been recorded in white lions in zoos as it has in white tigers. 

According to Linda Tucker, white lions are bred in camps in S.Africa for 
canned hunts as trophies. Some of these lions have been found to have hind-limb 
paralysis and serious heart defects, indicating a several level of inbreeding 
involved in mass production. 

They were first recorded in 1928 and in early 1940s. Two cubs, Temba, and 
Tombi, had a tawny brother called Vela, were seen at Timbavati Private Game 
reserve, adjacent to Kruger National Park. A white female cub called Phuma was 
sighted in the Timbavati pride, in 1976. 

At the age of two years she was killed by hunters. Temba, Tombi and Vela, who 
carried the recessive white mutation were taken to the National zoo in 
Pretoria, S.Africa after Phuma was killed. 

In 1996, Temba died after having sired several cubs. In 1981, Tombi had a 
white cub, but it did not survive. Vela sired a litter, but isn't known of his 
lineage survival. Some of the white lions in Netherlands (Ouwehands Dierenpark) 
and a private S.African zoo appear to be from Temba, or possibly Vela, lines. 
After Temba, Tombi and Vela were removed, a few other white or blonde cubs 
were born in Timbavati. 

In 1993, one female who had lived for several years was killed in a 
territorial fight. The chinchilla white or blonde mutation seems to have been lost in 
the wild, since then. An injured tawny lion from Timbavati, Timba was taken to 
the zoo for medical treatment. 

He was believed to have the white genes and was bred to a captive female and 
then to one of his own daughters. A white lioness called Bella was produced as 
a result in 1982, which later produced many white cubs. At zoos in China, 
Germany, Japan, Philadelphia and Toronto are represented by this bloodline. All 
white lions in captivity can trace ancestry to the Timba-Bella mating. 

To increase the genetic diversity of captive white lions and to reduce 
inbreeding depression, white lions from different strains were brought together by 
the Zoological Animal Reproductive Centre. All of the white lions come from the 
Kruger Park subspecies, at present and have not been bred with any other lion 
subspecies except for Toronto zoo's white lioness which has been bred to a 
genetic male. 

These lions are leucistic and not albino. They have pigment visible in the 
eyes which may be the normal hazel or golden colour, blue-grey or green-grey, 
paw pads and lips. Inhibiting the deposition of pigment along the hair shaft, 
restricting it to the tips, the leucistic trait is due to the chinchilla 
mutation. Paler the lion, less the pigment is along the hair shaft. As a result white 
lions range from blonde through to near white. 

The males have pale manes and tail tips instead of the usual dark tawny or 
black. 

While at Inkaya Nkalamo, Naoline the manageress called me and told me that 
one of the lionesses gave birth to one tawny white cub, by then it was only a 
week old. I sat comfortably preparing myself to carry the new born cub. As I 
took Tombi in my arms, it tried to climb over my chest. Its claws were very sharp 
compared to the grown up lions. I fed Tombi with milk in a feeding bottle. I 
revisited Tombi when she was four months old and was outstanding from the 
other cubs (see picture). 

_http://www.dailynews-tsn.com/page.php?id=6918_ 
(http://www.dailynews-tsn.com/page.php?id=6918)  





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