Al Ain Zoo Park Loses the Conservation Plot by Obtaining White Lions

                                   Photo By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenty/2354681713/

It saddens me that the new Al Ain Park (Al Ain Zoo) should lose the plot so early on in in its latest metamorphosis. They are the latest collection to join in with living the lie and suggesting that the White Lion is a rare and endangered species. It IS a rare mutation...It is NOT a separate species! The zoo should be educating and telling the truth. I have no problems with White Lions or White Tigers for that matter, where they are used properly and truthfully but I don't think that the propagation of mutants has a place within the modern, serious Zoological Garden. Because to be sure they ARE Mutants, they are not normal, being the result of a recessive chinchilla gene. Read 'White Lion Breeding Is Not Conservation'.

It is not as if these latest arrivals are the only White Lions in United Arab Emirates. There are others in Abu Dhabi...at least three being held in the Abu Dhabi Wildlife Centre. Are the arrivals in the zoo a case of one upmanship perhaps? There is no place for it in serious conservation.

White Lions have been commonly bred for use in Canned Hunts because the barbaric like to shoot something a bit different. White Lions are produced by breeding closely related animals together. This is the exact opposite of what reputable zoos are doing within established species breeding programmes! Here they very sensibly choose unrelated animals. There is NO official breeding programme for mutations like the White Lion.

I am told that the newspapers for the region have been filled with the story these past few days. Only a matter of time before the world press is sucked in by the lie too.

Breeding White Lions is ANTI-Conservation. There are probably a hundred plus of these deliberately produced freaks of nature in captivity. - Peter

UAE's Al Ain Park Aims To Help Save White Lions

The recent arrival of two white lions at the United Arab Emirates' Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort will hopefully raise an awareness of protecting the endangered species, according to Emirates news agency (WAM) quoting a report in "The National".




The brother and sister lions are among the last of such kind, and the park is calling the pair "conservation ambassadors".



It is believed that there have been 450,000 lions in the wild 50 years ago, but the number has dwindled to about 20,000. There are only a few white lions in captivity and they are believed to be extinct in the wild.



"We are trying to showcase the essence of the lion as a predator and a carnivore, and talk about the issues related to the conservation of lions throughout Africa and how all of us can help protect the animal, the environment of the animal, and animals in general," said Farshid Mehrdadfar, the park's animal collection manager.



Not long ago the African and Asiatic lions ranged from South Africa to the Atlas Mountains in North Africa, and from Mesopotamia to India.



"Wild populations of African lions are collapsing," said Dr Mike Maunder, the chief conservation, collection, and education officer, adding, "We fear that wild lions will only survive in a few protected areas."



The Asiatic lion is now found only in one small reserve in India.



The 18-month-old lions were a gift from the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in South Africa. They were flown on a passenger plane from South Africa to Dubai less than two months ago.



Since their arrival at Al Ain, Bridget Tighe, a trainer, has been working extensively to help acclimate the lions to their new surroundings.



"I was hand-feeding them and enforcing gentle behaviour with them, forming a bond so they trust me and know that I am not a threat to them," she said.



Once they began coming around I started basic training, teaching them to follow commands that allow me to care for them properly like being able to inspect their paws and check their health... Although the female remains slightly nervous, the male now lets the trainer ....
 
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New Home for White Lion Siblings
 
AL AIN — At first sight, 18-month-old lion siblings Sanbora and Shanwari seated under the shade of an aging tree at the Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort may look like a drawing by a child who forgot to add colour to the animals.




But with less than an estimated 30 remaining in the world, the rare white lions, that made their appearance for the public this week at the park, may very well be just left in photographs.

“The white lions help us highlight the plight of the lion in Africa, the loss of the lion in the rest of the world, and the need to conserve species and ecosystems,” said Dr. Mike Maunder Chief Conservation, Collection and Education Officer at AWPR.

The willdlife park is starting a breeding programme with the lions to contribute to preserving the almost extinct species. They are a gift from the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in South Africa.

The white lions are not albino — their hair and skin pigmentation is caused by the presence of a recessive gene known as chinchilla — colour inhibitor. The eyes, paw pads

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With piercing blue eyes and snowy white fur, this brother and sister pair are a distinctive new addition to Al Ain Wildlife Park’s menagerie of endangered animals.




The 18-month-old siblings travelled thousands of miles by plane from Cape Town in South Africa to take up residence at the zoo to highlight the plight of African lions and raise awareness of their dangerously depleted numbers.



The new arrivals are white lions, so called because of their unusual pigmentation, which leaves their coats an ashen colour and also their eyes, paws and skins with a bluish hue.



“Wild populations of African lions are collapsing and we’re losing the African lion.



We fear that wild lions will only survive in a few protected areas,” explained the resort’s head of collections, conservation and education, Dr Mike Maunder.



“The white lions at the wildlife park help us highlight the plight of the lion in Africa, the loss of the lion in the rest of the world, and the need to conserve species and ecosystems.”



White lions were first recorded in 1972 in Timbavati, part of the Kruger National Park of South Africa, though legend and folklore suggest they have prowled the savanna for hundreds of years.



The magnificent creatures were donated to the zoo from Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in South Africa.



As well as its efforts to protect native Arabian species, Al Ain Wildlife Park also runs conservation programmes for Sand cats, Arabian leopards and lions.



The white lions, who are now on display to visitors, are calling attention to the urgent need to protect the African lion from extinction.



In the 1960s, the African lion population exceeded 450,000 individuals.



Today, only 20,000 lions survive in the wild.



Animal collection manager, Farshid Mehrdadfar, said: “The white lions are ambassadors for their wild cousins.



“We are trying to showcase the essence of the lion as a predator and a carnivore, and talk about the issues related to the conservation of lions throughout Africa and how all of us can help protect the animal, the environment of the animal, and animals in general.”



Fifty years ago, the African lion range spread from South Africa to the Atlas Mountains in North Africa, and from Mesopotamia to India.



Today, due to hunting, habitat loss and

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