sasastro
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White Lions Return to Sacred Homeland
The white lion cubs, born recently in the West Midlands Safari Park in the heart of England are descended, like all white lions, from the white lions of Timbavati. Bordering the Kruger National Park in South Africa, this sacred region is the only place on Earth where white lions were ever found in the wild.
Linda Tucker, who has dedicated 15 years of her life to the protection of these animals, explains: “To the African elders, who look for spiritual signs in nature, the white lions’ arrival was the fulfilment of ancient prophecy that identified these creatures as angelic messengers from God.”
Born to the golden lion prides that roam the immense Timbavati region, the elders explained the white lions’ mysterious colour in spiritual terms. “White is sunlight, all the colours of the spectrum in one – beyond colour, creed, race or gender,” says Linda. “These white lions are such a magnificent icon for South Africa’s rainbow nation, and a unifying symbol across world culture.”
Twelve years ago, there were no white lions left in Timbavati. Prized for their rarity, they had been forcibly removed from their natural habitat into captive breeding and hunting programmes in South Africa, or sent to zoos and even circuses around the globe.
Then, on Christmas Day 2000, and in Bethlehem, a white lion cub was born in captivity. Having studied the ancient knowledge of the creatures with African elders, Linda Tucker knew that this cub was special. She needed to be rescued from the short life that lay ahead of her – the life of a lion born to face men who pay to hunt animals in captivity.
For her own protection the cub, named Marah, was taken to Johannesburg Zoo, where she later gave birth to three cubs of her own. Despite opposition from the vested interests of the hunting lobby, who did everything possible to prevent the lions returning to their homeland, all four have been re-introduced into the wild. Today, through the courage and determination of Linda Tucker and her colleagues, they roam free in some 600 acres of Timbavati region, acquired by the Global White Lion Protection Trust.
Jason Turner, The Protection Trust’s Lion Ecologist and Scientific Advisor, said: “After only five months of being out in the wild, these four white lions are now totally self-sufficient. The re-introduction programme has progressed much more successfully than anyone’s wildest expectations.”
Meanwhile, two white lion cubs have been born naturally in adjacent private reserves. The Trust is doing everything it can to secure the future of these cubs and all other white lions by getting them listed as a rare and threatened species. In the meantime, the Protection Trust is also seeking assistance to purchase more land for their protection, land the indigenous peoples consider sacred
http://whitelions.org/web/
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17/May/2007, 7:46 pm
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Gruffydd
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Re: White Lions Return to Sacred Homeland
How important is this work that the Global White Lion Protection Trust is doing. Thank you for posting this Sas.
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20/May/2007, 10:57 am
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sasastro
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You're welcome Gruffy, I thought of our forum here the moment I Stumbled over the site
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21/May/2007, 7:24 pm
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