Asiatic Lion - Data, Pictures & Videos

[Rishi]

(10-12-2020, 10:59 AM)KRA123 Wrote: I already posted this reply in another thread, but I'll post it her too and maybe someone in the know can answer it. There is something I don't understand about the way the Indian government is approaching Asiatic lion reintroduction. There are many Asiatic lions living in zoos in India, why not breed some of them in a dedicated breeding program and then release the progeny in the wild in, for example, Madhya Pradesh, or elsewhere. Couldn't that bypass the Gujarat government altogether? Given the relatively high reproductive rate of lions, they could have established a decent wild population outside of Gujarat by now if they had been breeding captive ones for reintroduction. If it's impossible to use lions in Indian zoos then the Indian government could request gametes from lions held in Europe or elsewhere. Once the population is large enough, they could trade with Iran - some of the lions for Asiatic cheetahs. I mean, even Iran, a whole other country and apparently the reciprocal antagonist of India in this process, has managed to get a hold of an Asiatic lion that they are going to try to breed, so can the Indian government do so as well?

Red. Tapes.

They might have to go for something like that ultimately. There are amongst 500 specimens worldwide, giving a large pool to choose from!.. MP also has experience in rewilding semi-wild raised cubs (with about 95% success rate).
Not only that the slight inbreeding amongst the captive population is actually helpful in this case... It means the individuals carrying undesirable recessive genes can be easily identified & avoided.

PS: Make paragraphs. Reply