Although the white lions are sacred animals for the African people, today they are in danger of extinction, hence we can only see them in very protected reserves or in zoos where try to get the species to move on, and of course, not to be lost.
They are beautiful, spectacular animals that seem torn from a unique world of fantasy.Now well, but why are they white? Are they perhaps albino animals ? No.This characteristic is due to a recessive gene that is exclusive in a very specific area of South Africa, in Timvabati.
However, this special feature, far from being a blessing It is actually the cause of his misfortunes.As you can guess, a white fur animal has great difficulties in hunting : its prey distinguishes it immediately.And even more, white lions are a precious trophy for the poachers .After killing these wonderful animals, it does not take long to see a coat made with its very white skin in many boutiques in various cities around the world.
It takes of a more ferrous legislation that protects these animals, condemned almost from birth, to have a life of hardships, hence today, those beautiful creatures locked in zoos, animals that can only guess what freedom is called.
Today in Science Daily Online , we invite you to know more about the white lions.
White lions messengers of the divinity in Africa
It is necessary to make a first appreciation.The white lions are not albino.Its origin for many comes directly from the region of Timvabati in South Africa, being seen for the first time in the 20s.This discovery was followed and studied by Chris McBride , who published in the 70s an interesting book entitled « The White Lions of Timbavati »where he talked about this unique feature.
White lions are like normal lions, only that they belong to a subspecies: Panthera leo krugeri , autochthonous as we say from the region of Southeast Africa.In nature we can see both albino and white lions, but they do not share the same particularities at all.
In the case of the latter, only their fur is white, but their skin, like the tone of their eyes, does not present the typical features of albinism.What happens in them is that they have a curious genetic condition due to a small mutation called 'leucismo', and what it does, as you see in the photographs, that only its fur presents that lack of pigmentation.Something unusual but beautiful at the same time.
Today you can see white lions free in Timvabati, the rest live in zoos, but what is the essential problem of raising them in captivity? That siblings cross with sisters or parents with daughters, which are born offspring with serious health problems due to consanguinity.
Now, according to denounce protectionist biologists as Linda Tucker, those who live in freedom are being hunted in an almost wild way.They are many times trying to "reintegrate" white lions of South African zoos in Timvabati to live in freedom and, shortly , discover that they have been cruelly killed .The efforts, illusions and affection put in their upbringing have been of no avail so that in the end, the poachers kill them for about 160,000 dollars that pays for your skin.Terrible.
For indigenous tribes, white lions are messengers of the divine gods. They are l to sacred essence that balances the ecosystems of our planet, and which in turn, brings leadership among living beings.It is also said that they, the white lions , were the first animals created on Earth and they , they will also be the last to roar if our time comes to an end, which is ironic, since shortly, this race native to Timvabati, will end up disappearing if we do not do something.
Right now we have platforms like «Save white lions» where you try to raise funds to protect them, we also have the help of actors like Jerome Flynn, the famous British actor who, for example, gives life to Bronn in the series «Game of Thrones », and has already organized several awareness campaigns.
Hopefully the white lion can live in new freedom mind, and that is not a creature almost doomed to inhabit our zoos or our circuses.A being endowed with great beauty that may very well be an authentic deity, one of those magical and ephemeral creatures whose purpose is to raise awareness.nature and the animals that give it life, need to be respected as true sacred entities.
Do you agree?
Image: DESFACE (agus) 128512 ;, MyAngelG, R∂lf Κλενγελ, Patrick Bouquet, Iulian Ursu
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