Six of the lions also showed skull abnormalities. One study found that out of 19 white lion cubs bred at a zoological garden in Italy, four were stillborn and another 13 didn’t survive the first month. Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic The Kermode bear is a white black bear-a variant of the North American black bear-that lives in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest. There is evidence that when breeders select for white lions-a practice that almost always necessitates inbreeding-the animals will eventually start to show defects. “As a scientist, I can’t say that there’s categorical evidence either way,” says Funston. This might mean that these drawbacks aren’t as important as we might think, or perhaps that white lions are able to overcome their handicap as a result of the communal feeding and protection that comes with life in a pride. However, some wild white lions have survived to adulthood. “I don’t think it’s an accident that lions are the color they are,” says Funston. The animals also hunt at night, when a white lion would stand out even more. It would stand to reason that being white is not ideal for a lion, says Paul Funston, the senior lion program director for Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization.Ī lion’s usual tawny color helps it blend into tall grasses and other vegetation. (See “ First-Ever Photos Show Wild Lion Nursing Leopard Cub.”) What’s more, only 50 percent of lion cubs-even normally colored cubs-survive their first year. “As with all young animals born in the wild, babies are especially vulnerable to predation,” says McCabe. White lions might also be rare in the wild because they’re less likely to survive, but it’s surprisingly unclear how well the animals fare. WATCH: Here are some of our favorite unexpectedly white creatures from around the world. “They are exceptionally rare to see fully grown in the wild however, we think more are born that don’t reach adulthood,” says McCabe. ( See pictures of rare white giraffes and other animals.) Technically, these animals are considered leucistic, not albino, because they have some pigment in certain areas, such as the eyes. While not completely unheard of, white lion cubs are uncommon because they can be born only if both parents possess a recessive mutation in a gene that makes colored pigments called melanins. And Mathonsi has been working in this area for 26 years.
The cub is the first wild white lion that McCabe or his colleague, animal tracker Fanny Mathonsi, have ever seen. “I moved closer to the bank to investigate, and we saw the small head of a lion cub roll out from its mother’s teat,” says McCabe, who has been guiding at Ngala for two years. “We are very happy that we took care of and raised the offspring of a rare species,” he added.On March 5, wildlife guides at the Ngala Private Game Reserve in South Africa stumbled upon an unusual sight-a white lion cub in the wild.Īccording to Lyle Bruce McCabe, a field guide at the reserve, he was watching a male lion sleeping in the Timbavati river bed when he heard the call of a young cub squeak out of a thicket nearby. “We continue our work to produce, reproduce, and care for these animals,” he said.Īs for the cub’s name, it will be decided by a vote on social media, he explained. When the mother neglected it Yılmaz took the cub home and nursed it with milk, he said, adding that it is in good condition and will start eating meat soon. Veterinarian Yücel Yılmaz told Anadolu Agency that with very few white lions remaining in the world, they were very happy to receive a cub, adding that there are currently 100 white lions in 30 zoos worldwide.
The 45-day-old cub of parents Arya and Hades, the first and only white lion pair in Turkey, was also introduced to the press. The event sought to draw attention to the declining lion population in the natural world.ĭuring the event, African lions and white lions living at the park were fed meat in watermelon shells. Separately, the first white lion cub born in Turkey was introduced at Lion Park in Tuzla, Istanbul in an event marking Aug.
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