I think London's Asian Lions are badly in need of an upgraded enclosure. The existing one looks really 'tired' with packed earth and the stagnant moat. Lets hope they do a 'Hunting Dogs' on it soon. Maybe a second female would be a good idea too? Many zoos seem to keep just pairs of Asian Lions but there's no real reason apart from space and perhaps the availability of females.
Lions asian ones
- Thread starter orang09
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Marwell ' Asiatic ' lions
The Marwell Zoological Society with which I was at the time an active member paid for the pair of lions from Berlin which later proved to be hybrids . What a let down , much hard fund-rasing was involved ! The pair from Jersey , I suspect from the same stock , were also moved to Marwell .
The Marwell Zoological Society with which I was at the time an active member paid for the pair of lions from Berlin which later proved to be hybrids . What a let down , much hard fund-rasing was involved ! The pair from Jersey , I suspect from the same stock , were also moved to Marwell .
I believe all these lions originated from an Indian Zoo where evidently there had been crossbreeding at some stage.
Yes, the European zoos that had acquired purported Indian lions ex India got hybrids between Africans and Asian. Similar conduit for the US, which after investigations by Stephen O'Brien stopped their coop breeding programme dead in its tracks. From that day forward the US zoos concentrated on the rarer pure-bred African lion subspecies. Europe in a conscious effort to set up a satellite breeding group in Europe acquired 4.4 pure Asians ex Sakkarbaug Zoo, Junagadh, Gujrat, India.
Now, we do need exchanges with Sakkarbaug - the Indian Zoos Asian lion breeding programme coordinator and source of all pure-bred Asian lions ex Gir - perhaps species in lesser numbers over there and in need of infusion of new blood against - let us be rich - 5.5 Asians. If only we tried (I do not know what is stopping this)!!!
