Steve has kindly allowed me to post this morning. They are having a media release today. "2 whites lions have arrived at the Darling Downs Zoo today, from ZooDoo wildlife park in Tasmania who we partnered with in the importation. The 2 cubs a male and female will go on display to the public this saturday, The lions have been brought to the Darling Downs Zoo, to give us something that no other zoo in qld has, and become a drawcard, they will also be used to raise the profile of endangered Panthera Leo, of which there are only 20000-30000 left in the wild." Now I know that many don't approve of white lions but I support Steve on this one. When you are competing against tigers, polar bears and the Irwin name you definately need something to stand out. I wish Darling Downs Zoo all the best and hope that this investment in time and money works for them.
Well, I see by the quote from their press release that Panthera Leo is now endangered. They must have some inside information, because the 2009 IUCN Red List puts them as vulnerable, which is one step below endangered. I realize I am being sarcastic and picky, but the overuse/misuse of the term "endangered" is one of my pet peeves. I think it hurts conservation as a whole, for two reasons. First, it cheapens the meaning of the word. It is so often used that every animal is considered endangered, so there is no distinction between those that truly are and those that are not necessarily. The term loses its strength. Second, it makes conservationists sound like they are overeacting when they say something is endangered and it is not - which makes the conservation movement as a whole lose credibility. (Like when everyone in the 90's was saying tigers will be extinct in the wild by 2000. They may still go extinct, but 2000 was clearly too early of an estimate to be throwing around).
Sumatran tigers have been extinct in the wild since 1995, or at least that's what they told me would happen back in 1990 Anyways, congratulations Steve. Hopefully they bring in more clicks to the turnstyle.
This media release was written by me, purposley for use on the forum. Keep an eye on Channels 9, 7 and ABC tonight. I use the word endangered to encompass all species listed as Vunerable, Endangered, Critically endangered. Speaking to people in the know in Africa, there is hopes for lions to be raised to Cities 1, the numbers really are declining. I will be uploading pictures in the next hour.
Zoo welcomes star attractions | Toowoomba News | Local News in Toowoomba | Toowoomba Chronicle News paper article with more photos
Another from the ABC Two little big cats - ABC Southern Queensland - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
so now jay is being given scoops instead of having to wait for the papers! seriously though, I'm a bit surprised by the lack of reaction to this news from certain Australian members with strong views on white lions! I expect Steve was steeling himself for a hefty debate. those are nice-looking cubs (much nicer than white tiger cubs ). Are there any photos of the signage and any other visitor information?
Most of our visitor information is done on our Zoo Tours and Talks, signage for them has not been erected yet, we were more focused on getting them here. This will all come in due course. So that photo of me, is your signage example.
7 and WIN didnt air it, i didnt catch ABC. Hopefully tomorrow. Apparently WIN did air it, my MyStar Austar recorded it at a weird time, so i got cricket instead.
i have to say i am very surprised at the reactions to these cubs as some members do not agree with white mutations. i myself am very happy that there are more of these in australia as they are a favorite of myn. Congrats to all involved hope everything goes well for use , and hopfully in the future there may be more little baby white lions.
A more correct term to encompass all those categories is "Threatened", although this term is used as its own category too. And the reason why certain people haven't posted is possibly because it's Friday night and they are out partying and not on the net. Wait for tomorrow. Hix
Yes, but when you say Threatened to the public is doesnt have as 'good' of an effect. I should of known better with ZooChatters though
Sorry but can I ask the following questions? Do you plan to breed from them? (I assume not) Do you plan to educate the public properly about "White"lions? (Which I assume you will) Do you plan to bring more of the same sub-species in then breed?
actually, with respect to taun's third question (well, and the first)....as I assume the two cubs are related and you have regular African lions at Darling Downs, are you going to be breeding regular and white together, just white to white, or will you just be holding the two whites as display without breeding them? (I think the answer to taun's second question would be a "yes", hopefully)
We do plan to breed from these animals, one day.. Probably White to Tawny, but these guys are unrelated. Yes, we arent saying they are a rare endangered subspecies of the Lion, they are their to raise the profile and awareness of problems facing tawny lions in the wild. There is no point managing Lions at a Sub Species level in Australia, these will be bred with our Zoo/Circus breed lions. Chlidonias these 2 bring our Lion holdings to 5.5 with 4.4 Tawny's and these whites The whites are held seperatley at this time, but there are plans to house them with Tawies for a comparison.
