Why are we dying ?
Believed or or not, endangerment for this specie has been caused most likely because of a huge popular error made and because of they're rareness.People mistakenly thought that the lions’ white coats meant they were only an albino mutation of the normal lions. It was proposed that the few numbers of them existing were because of a lack of camouflage when hunting because of the bright whiteness of their fur and because of this it was said White Lions were incapable to survive in the wild. Although this has been repeatedly proven false, all White Lions were removed from their natural environments into zoos, circuses,scientific investigation and most cruelly into the canning industry.
Nowadays scientists have dis proven those conclusions about White Lions being albino mostly because pigmentation in White Lions IS present in the eyes, lips and paw pads,while albino Lions have a loss of pigmentation in those areas caused by a genetic mutation. However, it is a huge not resolved doubt as in why this white condition is seen only in the lions of the Timbavati area.
Captive Breeding- Because these animals are very rare, after their discovery in 1795 they were removed from their habitats and put into captive breeding programs in South Africa with the intention of saving the white lions from being hunted down, causing them to be extinct in the wild for 12 years only existing in captivity, recently 2 are said to have been newly reintroduced.
Canned hunting- It is a hunt for animals that have been raised on game ranches until they are mature enough to be killed for trophy collections. White lions have been directly affected by this practice since South Africa has legalized canned hunting industry, In canned hunting, White Lions are bred and hand-reared to be shot inside small enclosures by wealthy trophy hunters looking for exotic wall hangings and stuffed trophies.
Zoos and Circuses- Another reason for their endangerment is because they were removed for their natural homelands into zoos and circuses were they are currently kept captive, bottle feed, petted by kids, have malnutrition.
it is thought that if canned hunting isn´t stopped lions won´t exist in the future. There are several organizations to protect the white lion but the government of South Africa is in favor of canned hunting so there isn't much they can do to save the lions from extinction. Their fur is one of the most valuable trophies.Even the interference of humans in handling White Lions for good preserving the specie purposes is being questioned. In 2006 two tawny colored lions gave birth to two white lion cubs at a private sanctuary in the Timbavati Reserve but the cubs died in a couple of weeks and their death has been blamed to human interference.
The white lion is considered sacred for indigenous people and important for the ecosystem´s biodiversity.
The number of white lions left today are 32!