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Abstract
The Global White Lion Protection Trust is committed to establishing the White Lions both as South Africa’s national treasure and as a global heritage. All conservation issues today are global issues. With many species, including many of the big cats, on the brink of extinction, urgent conservation measures need to be implemented to ensure their survival. The White Lions were born in one place only—the Timbavati region—but were artificially removed because of their beauty and rarity. After 13 years of extinction in the wild, the Trust has initiated a world-first reintroduction of the White Lions to their unique endemic range, based on scientific techniques of social bonding the White Lions with resident tawny lions, following successful lion reintroduction methods tried and tested in a number of reserves (Van Dyk 1997). It is our hope that this ground-breaking study will act as a precedent to assist related endeavors such as the challenges facing urgent ‘rewilding programs’ of other endangered cats.
Parent Publication
Keywords
wilderness,
biodiversity,
protected areas,
economics,
subsistence,
tourism,
traditional knowledge,
community involvement,
policy,
stewardship,
education,
spiritual values
Citation
Tucker, Linda. 2007. White lions: Reintroduction to their natural and spiritual homelands. In: Watson, Alan; Sproull, Janet; Dean, Liese, comps. Science and stewardship to protect and sustain wilderness values: Eighth World Wilderness Congress symposium; September 30-October 6, 2005; Anchorage, AK. Proceedings RMRS-P-49. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 447-450
