Inbreeding
The wild population of more than 300 Asiatic Lions has been said to be derived from just 13 individuals, and thus was widely thought to be highly inbred. However, this low figure, quoted from 1910, may have been publicised to discourage lion hunting; census data from the time indicates the population was probably closer to 100.
Scientists from India have since reported that the low genetic variability may have been a feature of the original population, and not a result of inbreeding. They also show that the variability in immunotypes is close to that of the tiger population and that there are no spermatazoal abnormalities in the current population of lions.
Recent information from the Central Zoo Authority of India (CZA) reports that "the Asiatic lions and Indian tigers are not as inbred as previously reported by S.J. O' Brien and do not suffer from inbreeding depression".
Read more about this topic: Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project
Famous quotes containing the word inbreeding:
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—Minnie Maddern Fiske (1865–1932)