Thanks for clearing that up, I have no problem with that and doubted Steve would of brought them in to just breed white lions!
Congratulations to Steve & Steph and the "DDZ team" on obtaining the two white lion cubs, I feel every zoo large or small needs drawcards to help bring people though the gates and this will help. I know they will get the best care there, the future looks good for the zoo. Oh and well done Jay on getting another scoop, lol.
As for breeding subspecies, I think most taxonomists would now agree that all lions in subhara Africa are one race. I can't point to any specific links just now, but that is my hunch. As for breeding white lions (and white tigers for that matter), the ideal solution would be to breed whites with unrelated normal colored cats to maintain a healthy gene pool. But of course everyone wants all white cubs, not just those that would randomly appear in my scheme, which is how we got into trouble with white tiger genetics and soon will be in the same boat with white lions. It is odd, however, that white lions never really took off in popularity here in the U.S. like white tigers did. Especially since people in Australia and New Zealand seem to think they are all the rage.
I'm not sure the last sentence is really very accurate. In NZ only the widely-derided Zion has white lions, and in Australia they are only in four (?) zoos, and two of those zoos only got them within the last month or so (ZooDoo and Darling Downs). Not exactly "all the rage"
The informations that I have that all White Lions are related in some degree like White Tigers. Im wrong ?
Only Johannesburg Zoo in South Africa have different bloodlines in this country, and if they where inported from a Zoo Supplier from Africa you only can be sure that they are not related after carry a DNA research, otherwise you never will know that what they are saying is correct. They are fascinating animals no doubt! Good look with them.
Not quite. They will be housed alongside a tawny pride for comparison once our total lion holdings are rationalised.
Thank you. We started researching this import over two years ago. One of the things that we were concerned about was getting the best quality animals. There are some dodgy lion breeders in Africa and so we spent a long while identifying a supplier who could provide us with genuinely unrelated animals.
Steve, I see from your website that you are now open every day except Tuesdays (and on Tuesdays during school holidays). Is this a permanent shift, or just an indication that the white lions are pulling people in?
I think a few people are being unrealistic in their expectations - Australia is hardly the last hope for the species. Lions are here primarily as show animals, and whites are just beautiful!
