Siegfried & Roy Continue White Lion Conservation Efforts...Proof Preservation Is Magical
You will never see a Magical White Lion in the wild. You can't see a Magical White Lions in most zoos. However, you can now see three of nature's magnificent beasts at the Toldeo (Ohio) Zoo.
Expanding their Magical White Lion conservation efforts in the United States, Siegfried & Roy have loaned three male Magical White Lions - Wisdom, Courage and Legend - to the zoo in the heartland of America. The Toledo Zoo joins Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage and the Cincinnati Zoo as the only places in America to see these rare animals.
Wisdom, Courage and Legend are part of a litter of four born on April 1, 2001, at the Cincinnati Zoo. The fourth sibling, a female named Gracious, remains in Cincinnati with their mother, Prosperity, and father, Sunshine. Prosperity, the official mascot of the United States Senate, was born at the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, while Sunshine comes from Germany. Both Prosperity and Sunshine were loaned to the Cincinnati Zoo in 1998. There are 23 Magical White Lions in Siegfried & Roy conservation program on three continents.
"We are always looking for special places for people to see our Magical White Lions," says Roy. "We are proud to have them at the Toledo Zoo, which is nationally recognized as one of the most comprehensive zoological institutions in the nation. It's a place a visitor can not only see the animals, but, if they wish, get educated about them."
The Magical White Lion is neither an albino nor a separate species from the African lions. The lighter coloration is the result of a recessive gene. The same type of genetic mechanism causes spotted leopards to sometimes produce solid black cubs. Black coloration helps the leopard - a nocturnal hunter - capture its prey, so those cats can survive and spread their genes. White coloration, on the other hand, makes it difficult for lions to conceal themselves and sneak up on their prey. Therefore, White Lions do not survive well in the wild and none have been seen since 1975 when they were documented in a pride found on the Timbavati Game Reserve in South Africa.
Like the white buffalo calf, held sacred in some Native America cultures, the White Lion symbolizes a new era, a new hope. Siegfried & Roy use this awe-inspired reaction to their White Lions and White Tigers to educate the public and to encourage the conservation of all animals threatened with extinction.
As Roy explains, "animals, from elephants to birds to tigers to lions, are vanishing all over the world. As magicians, we can make things disappear. As conservationists, our goal is to make these creatures reappear."
In order for the world's animals to survive the current pressures of hunting habitat loss and other forms of human encroachment, it's critical that we all become involved in conservation efforts.
;)
