Chester Zoo No more cubs for Asha & Asoka
- Thread starter LeeMac13
- Start date
taun
Well-Known Member
Why?
They have the space to hold 1.2 in a wonderful enclosure. Ideally unrelated animals need to be brought into the breeding programme.
LeeMac13
Well-Known Member
i just feel bringing in a new female would stress Asha out and cause fighting
I'd imagine it would be no different to any other animal introduction that the zoo does...
taun
Well-Known Member
Exactly and if Asha is a none breeder then a second female would be good.
Well from what i've seen only Chester and Edinburgh have the space to do so (although Dudley look like they do now).
London, Twycross and Bristol are suitable for only 1.1 really (debatable in Twycross' current enclosure)
Adult female lions usually do not accept other, unrelated females. Introductions have tried often (with african and asian lions) and it hardly ever went well. A few years ago, Nuremberg tried to introduce a young female to a 1.1 pair (asian species) and the adult female killed the young one. I wouldn`t try to put another female in with Asha.
I agree 100% wild lion prides consist of long established and related animals- strangers are driven away aggressively and even killed and this would probably be mirrored in captivity(as in Yassa's example above).
If Chester want to breed Asian lions again I think for safety's sake they would need to exchange one of the existing animals.
Asian lions are not really any less social than Africans, but they do live in smaller prides, often consisting of a couple of related females and their cubs, while adult males often live seperataly, frequently in pairs. There's certainly no reason why a zoo with sufficient space couldn't exhibit more than just a pair, as at Edinburgh.
How old is Asha? Wouldn't it be possible to wait until she dies, because sending her away to some other zoo is bound to cause her stress, as is meeting a new male or another, non-breeding female. Alternatively, she may have to live on her own if Asoka was sent to join a younger female. It's seems wisest to me to just wait like Bristol is, else Chester could have some premature deaths on their hands.
Also, something I was wondering-why have no new lions been imported, if the gene pool in Europe is so small? Is the Government in India unwilling to part with a few individuals, or is there some other reason?
Also, something I was wondering-why have no new lions been imported, if the gene pool in Europe is so small? Is the Government in India unwilling to part with a few individuals, or is there some other reason?
all true observations. I see no harm in maintaining them as a nonbreeding exhibition pair. Too many cubs being raised will produce housing problems in the future- already nearly all the mainstream Uk zoos are exhibiting Asians and I think there is a similar trend in Europe.
Whatever the problems of importing new lions from India, with only c.300+ in the wild, the gene pool must be fairly small anyway so I'm not sure how important that factor is.
LeeMac13
Well-Known Member
im glad that so many people have agreed with me about not bringing in another female in with Asha, i just feel that it would cause lots of unnecessary stress. I think Asha is 11 but not 100% sure. Do you think that the genetic problem lays with Asha or do you think it could be Asoka?
I would imagine the problem is with both lions 
Just as Pertinax pointed out, there are fewer than 400 Asiatic Lions, and though I've read that geneticists think the gene pool was not that big in the first lace, it's bound to be a lot smaller now. The captive population is rather inbred (I think), so Asha and Asoka are almost certainly both related. That and Asha's advancing age was probably not helping the health of her cubs.
Just as Pertinax pointed out, there are fewer than 400 Asiatic Lions, and though I've read that geneticists think the gene pool was not that big in the first lace, it's bound to be a lot smaller now. The captive population is rather inbred (I think), so Asha and Asoka are almost certainly both related. That and Asha's advancing age was probably not helping the health of her cubs.
LeeMac13
Well-Known Member
I would imagine the problem is with both lions
Do you think that eventually the species will die out in zoos? both Asha and Asoka arent looking there normal selfs lately not quite sure why
Not quite sure what you're saying here. What do you mean by not looking themselves?
It's probably the weather
Though I'm far from expert on Chester, lions or most animals, I think the species is liable to die out in zoos, since the gene pool's small and if you keep breeding related animals, the relationships will get closer (cousinXcousin) and many, if not all the offspring will be born with deformities, which seem to be seeing a bit now.
At least if we did import a few more animals fresh from India, we could keep the captive population around a little longer (hopefully).
LeeMac13
Well-Known Member
i know it sounds mad but sad