1. White Lions are not albinos, but a genetic rarity unique to one endemic region on the globe: the Timbavati region.
2. The Genetic Marker that makes White Lions unique has not yet been identified by science.
3. The White Lions are currently classified under the general species classification Panthera leo, although this is likely to change after the genetic research undertaken by the Global White Lion Protection Trust reveals important reasons for sub-speciation of this rare phenotype.
4. The earliest recorded sighting of white lions in the Timbavati region was in 1938. However, the oral records of African elders indicate that these unique animals survived in this region for many centuries.
5. The unique white lion gene is carried by certain of the tawny coloured lions in the region, and white cubs occurred in numerous prides in the region.
6. Since their discovery by the West, white lions and those lions carrying the unique gene have been hunted, and forcibly removed from their natural endemic habitat.
7. The last white lion was seen in the wild in 1994, after which time they were technically extinct in the wild.
8. The idea that white lions are genetically inferior to ordinary tawny lions has not been scientifically tested.
9. The idea that White Lions cannot survive in the wild due to perceived lack of camouflage has not been scientifically tested.
10. Currently, there is no law nationally or internationally that protects the White Lions from being wiped off the face of the earth.
Written by Michelle Cinapri
2. The Genetic Marker that makes White Lions unique has not yet been identified by science.
3. The White Lions are currently classified under the general species classification Panthera leo, although this is likely to change after the genetic research undertaken by the Global White Lion Protection Trust reveals important reasons for sub-speciation of this rare phenotype.
4. The earliest recorded sighting of white lions in the Timbavati region was in 1938. However, the oral records of African elders indicate that these unique animals survived in this region for many centuries.
5. The unique white lion gene is carried by certain of the tawny coloured lions in the region, and white cubs occurred in numerous prides in the region.
6. Since their discovery by the West, white lions and those lions carrying the unique gene have been hunted, and forcibly removed from their natural endemic habitat.
7. The last white lion was seen in the wild in 1994, after which time they were technically extinct in the wild.
8. The idea that white lions are genetically inferior to ordinary tawny lions has not been scientifically tested.
9. The idea that White Lions cannot survive in the wild due to perceived lack of camouflage has not been scientifically tested.
10. Currently, there is no law nationally or internationally that protects the White Lions from being wiped off the face of the earth.
Written by Michelle Cinapri
Markus Schiller Photography
bydandphotography
Video: Mystery of the White Lions
....loveeeeeeee......
Amazing. White lions, White Bears "Spirit Bears", White German shepherds, they all have a "masking gene" that masks the colors. For example my White German Shepherd has champange color on the tips of her ears and down her back and tip of the tail. This would be the black area if she were a Black & Tan or Silver and Tan.
Its really a amazing phenomena I hope they start protecting the wild While Lions.
It is so sad that they are under extinction.
Many of the Tawny lions with white genes are in fact being bred in captivity to make sure that they do NOT become extinct! This part of the report is pure scaremongering. In the West (South Africa playing a big part) we are trying to breed them so that there are MORE white lion cubs being born to ensure the gene does not die out! Get your so called "Facts" straight!