Posted on January 23rd, 2008 by Andrea M. Rotondo
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The White Lions of Timbavati
- The White Lions of Timbavati
The White Lions of Timbavati
With South Africa trip planning on my mind these days, it’s no wonder I’ve become much more interested in the animals and habitats of the areas we’ll be visiting: specifically, Timbavati and Sabi Sands. When I came across Chris McBride’s book, The White Lions of Timbavati
, I couldn’t wait to read it. Even though this book was published in the mid-1970s, it will be of interest to anyone who’s grappled with wildlife conservation issues.
I read this book a few days ago and, to be honest, I haven’t stopped thinking about the white lions since. Here’s the gist of the book: In the 1970s, Chris McBride was pursuing his degree in conservation management. For his thesis, he decided to document the daily life of a lion pride in the Timbavati Private Game Reserve. During his first few weeks in the bush near Kruger National Park, he tracked the pride’s movements, documented its kills, noted how the lions interacted with each other, etc.
A few weeks into the study, McBride discovered something shocking: two white lions were born to a pride lioness. These cubs were not albino lions, but true white lions. Throughout the ages, African lore has talked about white lions but very few have been documented. In fact, it has been decades since the last sighting. So, this discovery was something special. While science long ago unraveled the reason for the white coat—a recessive gene carried by one parent—seeing a white lion in the wild is no less mystical today than it was a hundred years ago.
As the cubs grew, McBride became increasingly concerned for their safety: Would they be able to hunt without the camouflage of a tawny-colored coat? Would poachers invade Timbavati to kill these white lions for their distinctive and unusual coats?
The book ends when the cubs are still quite young and McBride is still struggling with the idea that he may need to capture and relocate the white lions for their own safety.
Of course, I was curious to find out what happened to the lions so I Googled to learn more and, among other things, found that McBride followed up The White Lions of Timbavati with a second book, Operation White Lion. I tracked down a used copy and it should arrive any day. I look forward to reading McBride’s account of the events that transpired during this time period. I’ve since read many viewpoints on the Internet; some agree with McBride’s decisions while others couldn’t oppose more strongly.
Some of what I learned is heartbreaking. I won’t share it here in case you want the opportunity to read these books for yourself first. However, I will write more about these magnificent white lions once I read Operation White Lion.
In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more, you can purchase McBride’s two books from any used book retailer (Amazon, Powells.com, AbeBooks.com, etc.).
—AndreaWith South Africa trip planning on my mind these days, it’s no wonder I’ve become much more interested in the animals and habitats of the areas we’ll be visiting: specifically, Timbavati and Sabi Sands. When I came across Chris McBride’s book, The White Lions of Timbavati, I couldn’t wait to read it. Even though this book was published in the mid-1970s, it will be of interest to anyone who’s grappled with wildlife conservation issues.
I read this book a few days ago and, to be honest, I haven’t stopped thinking about the white lions since. Here’s the gist of the book: In the 1970s, Chris McBride was pursuing his degree in conservation management. For his thesis, he decided to document the daily life of a lion pride in the Timbavati Private Game Reserve. During his first few weeks in the bush near Kruger National Park, he tracked the pride’s movements, documented its kills, noted how the lions interacted with each other, etc.
A few weeks into the study, McBride discovered something shocking: two white lions were born to a pride lioness. These cubs were not albino lions, but true white lions. Throughout the ages, African lore has talked about white lions but very few have been documented. In fact, it has been decades since the last sighting. So, this discovery was something special. While science long ago unraveled the reason for the white coat—a recessive gene carried by one parent—seeing a white lion in the wild is no less mystical today than it was a hundred years ago.
As the cubs grew, McBride became increasingly concerned for their safety: Would they be able to hunt without the camouflage of a tawny-colored coat? Would poachers invade Timbavati to kill these white lions for their distinctive and unusual coats?
The book ends when the cubs are still quite young and McBride is still struggling with the idea that he may need to capture and relocate the white lions for their own safety.
Of course, I was curious to find out what happened to the lions so I Googled to learn more and, among other things, found that McBride followed up The White Lions of Timbavati with a second book, Operation White Lion. I tracked down a used copy and it should arrive any day. I look forward to reading McBride’s account of the events that transpired during this time period. I’ve since read many viewpoints on the Internet; some agree with McBride’s decisions while others couldn’t oppose more strongly.
Some of what I learned is heartbreaking. I won’t share it here in case you want the opportunity to read these books for yourself first. However, I will write more about these magnificent white lions once I read Operation White Lion.
In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more, you can purchase McBride’s two books from any used book retailer (Amazon, Powells.com, AbeBooks.com, etc.).
—Andrea M. Rotondo M. Rotondo
With South Africa trip planning on my mind these days, it’s no wonder I’ve become much more interested in the animals and habitats of the areas we’ll be visiting: specifically, Timbavati and Sabi Sands. When I came across Chris McBride’s book, The White Lions of Timbavati, I couldn’t wait to read it. Even though this book was published in the mid-1970s, it will be of interest to anyone who’s grappled with wildlife conservation issues.
I read this book a few days ago and, to be honest, I haven’t stopped thinking about the white lions since. Here’s the gist of the book: In the 1970s, Chris McBride was pursuing his degree in conservation management. For his thesis, he decided to document the daily life of a lion pride in the Timbavati Private Game Reserve. During his first few weeks in the bush near Kruger National Park, he tracked the pride’s movements, documented its kills, noted how the lions interacted with each other, etc.
A few weeks into the study, McBride discovered something shocking: two white lions were born to a pride lioness. These cubs were not albino lions, but true white lions. Throughout the ages, African lore has talked about white lions but very few have been documented. In fact, it has been decades since the last sighting. So, this discovery was something special. While science long ago unraveled the reason for the white coat—a recessive gene carried by one parent—seeing a white lion in the wild is no less mystical today than it was a hundred years ago.
As the cubs grew, McBride became increasingly concerned for their safety: Would they be able to hunt without the camouflage of a tawny-colored coat? Would poachers invade Timbavati to kill these white lions for their distinctive and unusual coats?
The book ends when the cubs are still quite young and McBride is still struggling with the idea that he may need to capture and relocate the white lions for their own safety.
Of course, I was curious to find out what happened to the lions so I Googled to learn more and, among other things, found that McBride followed up The White Lions of Timbavati with a second book, Operation White Lion. I tracked down a used copy and it should arrive any day. I look forward to reading McBride’s account of the events that transpired during this time period. I’ve since read many viewpoints on the Internet; some agree with McBride’s decisions while others couldn’t oppose more strongly.
Some of what I learned is heartbreaking. I won’t share it here in case you want the opportunity to read these books for yourself first. However, I will write more about these magnificent white lions once I read Operation White Lion.
In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more, you can purchase McBride’s two books from any used book retailer (Amazon, Powells.com, AbeBooks.com, etc.).
—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxurySafariExperts.com
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