White lion
Encyclopedia
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and is a rare color mutation
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
of the Kruger
Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers and extends from north to south and from east to west.To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is...
subspecies of lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
(Panthera leo krugeri). It has been perpetuated by selective breeding in zoos around the world. White lions are not yet a separate subspecies and they have been said to be indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest recorded sighting in this region was 1938. Regarded as divine by locals, 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, now, a large part of the population of white lions are in zoos. Another large part, however, are bred in camps, for canned hunt
Canned hunt
A canned hunt is essentially a trophy hunt in which the animal is kept in a more confined area, such as in a fenced-in area, increasing the likelihood of the hunter obtaining a kill...
ing trophies.
It is hard to determine exactly how many white lions there are today, because they are held in captive breeding and hunting operations which don't keep adequate records. Based on available evidence, The Global White Lion Protection Trust estimate there are an estimated 300 White Lions world-wide.
White lions are not albino
Albinism
Albinism is a congenital disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes due to absence or defect of an enzyme involved in the production of melanin...
s. Their white color is caused by a recessive gene known as the chutiya or color inhibitor gene, distinct from the albinism gene. They vary from blonde through near-white. This coloration, however, does not appear to disadvanatge 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.
Breeding white lions
The chinchilla mutation, a recessive gene, gives white lions their unusual colors. A similar gene also produces white tigerWhite tiger
The white tiger is a recessive mutant of the Bengal tiger, which was reported in the wild from time to time in Assam, Bengal, Bihar and especially from the former State of Rewa.-Color comparison:...
s. White lions can therefore be selectively bred
Selective breeding
Selective breeding is the process of breeding plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Typically, strains that are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is sometimes done by a professional breeder. Bred animals are known as breeds, while bred plants are known as varieties,...
for zoos, animal shows and wildlife park. Such breeding involves inbreeding
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...
of close relatives and can result in inbreeding depression
Inbreeding depression
Inbreeding depression is the reduced fitness in a given population as a result of breeding of related individuals. It is often the result of a population bottleneck...
(genetic defects
Genetic disorder
A genetic disorder is an illness caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes, especially a condition that is present from before birth. Most genetic disorders are quite rare and affect one person in every several thousands or millions....
, reduced fertility, and physical defects) although this has not yet been recorded in white lions in zoos as it has been in white tigers. According to Tucker, white lions in canned hunt camps have been found to have hind-limb paralysis and serious heart defects, indicating a severe level of inbreeding involved in mass-production although they are rare in the wild. People are concerned about the White Lions mating with other lions of other alleles, because of possible extinction of the white lion. However, this is not valid as the offspring will inherit the 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 over 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.
Timbavati white lions
White lions were first recorded in 1928 and in the early 1940s. In 1959, a pride with two white cubs was seen near Tshokwane in Kruger National Park, but later vanished. Albino lions had been recorded in the area according to David Alderton's book "Wild Cats Of The World". In 1974, a light gray lion cub was born at Birmingham ZooBirmingham Zoo
The Birmingham Zoo is a zoological park that opened in 1955 in Birmingham, Alabama . The zoo is home to almost 800 animals representing over 200 species, including many endangered species from six continents....
, Alabama. The Cincinnati Zoo currently holds four Timbavati white lions. In 1975, two white cubs were seen at Timbavati Game Reserve
Timbavati Game Reserve
The Timbavati Game Reserve is located to the north of the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve on the western edge of Kruger National Park.The Reserve was established in 1956 by like-minded game farmers with the creation of the Timbavati Association. The association has 50 members and covers...
, adjacent to Kruger National Park. Their story is detailed by Chris McBride in his book "The White Lions of Timbavati". The two cubs, Temba (Zulu
Zulu language
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
for "hope") and Tombi ("girl") had a tawny brother called Vela ("surprise"). In 1975, a white female cub called Phuma ("to be out of the ordinary") was sighted in the Timberland pride.
A few months later Temba, Tombi, and Vela (who carried the recessive white mutation) were taken to the National Zoo in Pretoria, South Africa. Temba sired several cubs. Tombi had a white cub in 1981, it was low in health but survived. Vela sired a litter; they grew up to be strong. Unusually, one out of the four cubs was white while the rest were almost blonde. The white lions in the Ouwehands Dierenpark (Netherlands) and a private South African Zoo appear to be from Temba, or possibly Vela, lines. A few other white or blond cubs were born in Timbavati after Temba, Tombi, and Vela were removed, but none survived.
Another white lion bloodline, possibly part of the Timbavati bloodline, comes from a white male captured in the Timbavati area in the late 1980s and kept by a private reserve.
Kruger and Umfolozi white lions
In 1979, three litters containing white lions were recorded in Kruger National ParkKruger National Park
Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers and extends from north to south and from east to west.To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is...
. 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
Mange
Mange is the common name for a class of persistent contagious skin diseases caused by parasitic mites. Since mites also infect plants, birds, and reptiles, the term "mange," suggesting poor condition of the hairy coat due to the infection, is sometimes reserved only for pathological...
. A white lion was observed in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve
Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve
Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve, located 280 km north of Durban, is the oldest proclaimed park in Africa. It consists of 960 km² of hilly topography in central Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and is known for its rich wildlife and conservation efforts. The park is the only...
in Zululand
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
.
White lions of unknown ancestry
- A white lion breeding program is currently underway at Inkwenkwezi Private Game ReserveInkwenkwezi Private Game ReserveInkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve, is located approximately 30 km north-east of East London, and is situated within an area of 100 km² encompassing five different biomes in the wild coast region of South Africa's Eastern Cape province...
in South Africa's Eastern Cape province. - Four white lion cubs were born at the Papanack Park ZooPapanack Park ZooThe Papanack Park Zoo is a small zoo in Wendover, Ontario. It opened to a the public in 1994 for a one year trial. It started as a family owned and operated facility breeding exotic animals and birds in the early 1980’s....
outside Ottawa, but did not resub-adults have since been released into the main reserve with the other tawny lions. Queen has since given birth to a further 3 white lion cubs. Continuous monitoring by the Wildlife Department at Sanbona has ensured their white lions are still wild, well, and free.
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.Belgrade Zoo in Serbia
Belgrade zoo in Serbia has 10 white lions. In 2010 four were born by two female lions, each of weight about 1.5kg (3.3 pounds). Four new white lions were born in April 2011.Genetics
White lions are not albinos but are leucistic. They have pigmentPigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
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 through 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 South African lion subspecies; 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.
Six years later, the "Garden of Good Hope," boasts that in his area currently has ten white lions.