AR-News: (Africa) Matlhare Warns Against Alarmist Lion Reports

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

Rampholo Molefhe

DIRECTOR of Wildlife, Joseph Matlhare, has cautioned against alarmist reports 
suggesting that Botswana's lions could be wiped out by the Feline Immuno- 
Deficiency Virus (FIV), the animal equivalent of AIDS.
Matlhare revealed that there is a raging debate in scientific circles about 
the true extent of the damage that could be caused by the animal virus. He said 
that his department is aware of press reports suggesting that Botswana's 
lions are under threat of extinction because of the increasing prevalence of FIV.
"However, there is a counter argument that even if the animals do have this 
virus, they have lived with it long enough to render them resistant to it," 
Matlhare reveals.
"The difficulty is that some of the authors of the articles which predict 
extinction of the lions have not published in scientific journals so that 
professional peers might enter the debate properly," Setlhare says.



full story:

http://allafrica.com/stories/200404020376.html 
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