A few survivors were captured and bred in captivity.īecause the white coat colour mutation is in addition a recessive trait – meaning that the mutation has to be present on both parentally inherited chromosomes to be expressed – there has been a very high level of inbreeding to produce more and more white lions. So popular were these white coat colour lions that they were almost hunted to extinction.
That mutation occurred in a small population of lions to the west of Kruger National Park in South Africa. White lions are white due to what geneticists call a “single point mutation”. That enzyme had previously been associated with white coat colour in domestic cats.īy extension, you might as well call people with red hair a human subspecies. They found that the white coat colour is a result of a single nucleotide substitution resulting in a single amino acid change in an enzyme called Tyrosinase. In a recent publication in the journal Nature reporting on the whole genome sequencing of the Amur tiger, the researchers also looked at sections of the white lion genome. He said they were a separate subspecies, and that they were sacred across Africa. Thanks Jerome, good message.īut then he deflected onto very thin ice by bringing up white lions. He mentioned that African wildlife is under extreme threat, the “system” is on the edge, and we are losing lions at a great rate. Jerome mentioned 8,000 lions in captivity, bred to be killed, treated like commodities for twisted prides and egos.
I tuned in to the ITV Daybreak show this morning, and listened to what actor Jerome Flynn (Ripper Street, Game of Thrones) had to say about lions.
Calling white lions "special" is dangerous Thursday 13th March 2014