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LIONS AND LIONESSES
The work of Ubuntu 4 Animals, is inspired by and in honor of the White Lions and Lionesses of Tsau
and the Global White Lion Protection Trust.
In the heart of a remote area called Timbavati, located in the northeast region of South Africa next to the world famous Kruger National Park, the most sacred animal on the African continent, and perhaps on the planet, has re-emerged after centuries of invisibility. The first reported sightings of this seemingly mythical creature occurred in the 1930s but were disregarded as pure fantasy. It was only in 1975 that Chris McBride, an animal biologist, officially verified their existence through photographic evidence— after his family stumbled across a miraculous occurrence — white lions with coats as pure as the whitest snow.
African Sangomas (indigenous priests) have long-since recognized White Lions as the direct messengers of the divine—embodying a sacred essence that balances our planet’s ecosystems, and brings true leadership among living beings. White Lions are said to have been the first animals created on Earth and the last ones to roar if our times were to come to an end. Significantly, the precise location of their emergence, Timbavati, is in exact longitude alignment with the Sphinx, humankind’s oldest lion riddle. Needless to say, White Lions are among the rarest of animals on the planet and their survival is of invaluable importance, not only for conservation reasons but equally for spiritual reasons associated
with the survival of our own species.
Established in 2002 by author and conservationist, Linda Tucker, the Global White Lion Protection Trust (WLT) is a South African based non-profit organisation. It is responsible for protecting the White Lions and developing the related cultural values that hold them sacred. Preserving an Icon of National Pride, Hope and Unity: The critically endangered White Lion has been naturally birthed in one place only on earth – the Timbavati region of South Africa. Its conservation value is paralleled only by its cultural value to indigenous communities of the region as a national symbol of unity, peace and hope.
See more at: Global White Lion Protection Trust
PRAISE SONG FOR THE LION
Ngonyama, lion, lord of the forests
Creature that puzzled our forefathers,
who did not know what to make of you!
And they called you Ngomyama, the creature with two fleshes
They called you Ngomyama,
the creature of two shapes
They said that your tail was that of the bull of the skies,
of the bull of heaven
They said that your mane was that of the great baboon of the wilds
And they said that your head was nobler than that of Ingwe, the leopard
They said you were three animals in one like God Omnipotent on high! Ngonyama, symbol of the kings of the Zulu people!
Ngonyama, thunder of the valleys!
You, whose roar frightens the dreams out of the heads of sleeping warriors! Ngonyama, whose footprint is never erased by the passing winds!
Ngonyama, where your roar is heard, there is life to be found!
Ngonyama, where you are smelt, there is no evil,
And where you are heard, there is no ill,
And where you are seen there is no fear!
Ngonyama, long may you walk the plains of this land!
Bayete!
from “Isilwane the animal” by Credo Mutwa,
The Global March for the Lions, 15th March 2014:
On the 15th March 2014 the first Global March for the Lions was held in over 60 cities across the world to protest the horrific canned lion industry of South Africa that raises lions specifically to be killed by trophy hunters. There are fewer than 4000 lions left in the ’wild’ in South Africa, but more than 8,000 in captivity, being bred for the bullet or the arrow. Lion farming is a real threat to wild lion prides, for many reasons. This toxic and cruel industry needs to be closed down. Canned hunting takes place when the target animal is unfairly prevented from escaping the hunter, either by physical constraints (fencing) or by mental constraints (tame, habituated to humans.)
The industry is a painful legacy of the type of colonialist oppression of indigenous people and natural resources of a land. It is significant that at this time of an intense global crisis in leadership, violent social divisiveness and ecological imbalance, that people across the world succeeded in coordinating across continents to roar in unison for a collective cause.
The lions are a universal symbol of just and thriving majestic leadership. It is thus particularly poignant that the Global March for the lions took place at a time in history when global leadership is actively destroying the planet. The lion roar has raged across the planet to protest the unjust rule of human law based on artificial notions of hierarchy, separateness and oppressive
discriminatory powers that go against the natural order of life.Ubuntu 4 Animals worked extensively in support of the Global
March for the Lions, in particular in Cape Town and Israel.
We are profoundly grateful to all the initiators and organisers of the Global March around the world especially to CACH Campaign Against Canned Hunding and and WLT The Global White Lion Protection Trust for the opportunity to participate in such a crucial and transformative event.
The lions and lionesses have roared and people across the world are uniting. The power of thousands of people across the world roaring in empathy and solidarity with these vibrationally majestic animals cannot go unnoticed. We believe it is an event that portends a turning point in the global awareness of the plight of the lions and the impact on our shared eco-system.