Wednesday, February 11, 2009

I'm not lion ...


Lions are cool and one of my favorite animals. They're the second largest of the big cats, with tigers being the largest. Lions live in Africa and Asia, but only in certain places because they've been driven out. It is believed that lions were once the most widespread land mammal at one time. Lions are currently in a vulnerable, threatened status, not yet endangered.

White lions are even more rare and have never been common in the wild. There are not many white lions left and they are currently an endangered species. White lions aren't albinos, as many people think. The white color comes from a recessive, color-inhibiting gene. White lions only come from parents who both have this gene. White lions were first recorded in 1928, but didn't get a lot of attention until the 1970s when Chris McBride wrote The White Lions of Timbavati. I have always loved lions. I have a small collection of lion figurines. I've only seen white lions at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. Siegfried & Roy had a white lion with their collection of tigers. I don't know if it's still there, but it was absolutely beautiful.

If you're close to my age, you might remember a famous white lion named Kimba. No, not Simba -- that's The Lion King. Kimba the White Lion was an animated television show from the 60s. I probably watched most of it in the 70s and I loved this show. It was the first animated television series made in Japan. I used to watch this show all the time. I think it came on right before Speed Racer, which I also loved. Kimba the White Lion was a great show. It was about animals and people living together peacefully. I have two DVDs of this show that I found in the $5 bin at Walmart. They don't make shows like this anymore. Thanks to You Tube, we can take a small trip back ...


11 comments:

  1. Kimba - so close to Kimbra.

    Interesting.

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  2. You come up with some amazing history.

    Never saw this show but looks cute.

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  3. I don't remember that show, but it looks cute. Thanks!

    Nancy

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  4. There's a huge debate about this show and The Lion King. Supposedly Disney got the idea for thier movie from Kimba the White Lion. (there are a lot of similarities between the two) However, Disney claims that they had "never heard of" this show when The Lion King was in production.

    That kind of stuff is just a headache to read though. I think both are cute in their different ways! :)

    -Nichelle

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  5. I never saw this. I do remember a show called Daktari, with Clarence the cross-eyed lion.

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  6. Aggh! I want to play with a white tiger. I had a dream I went swimming with one - a little cub.

    I don't remember that Kimba show, but he/she sure looks cute!

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  7. I've never seen Kimba before, but that video is adorable!

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  8. I have never seen this show either... dating yourself again Rena!

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  9. I have never seen this show either. It looks cute. I think my boys would like this.
    Erin

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  10. This was not a show that we got to the Caribbean. However, like
    Adrienne, we did get Daktari and my favorite cartoon Crusader Rabbit.

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  11. I never saw this show but it's interesting how close the mc's names are to Lion King.

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