Rare White Lion Cubs Born At German Zoo
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White lions are extremely rare to begin with, so when seven are born on the same day, it is definitely something to celebrate. The seven cuties were born to two different moms, on July 30th at the Zoo in the town of Scloss Hotle-Stukenbrock in Germany. Unfortunately, one died soon after, but the rest seem to be thriving.
Kibo, one of the lioness mum's has been happy to look after her three little ones and hasn't been seen in public.
The other mother however is not as happy with her brood, and rejected all three the minute they were born - but they are in good hands. The zookeepers are more than happy to look after these cute little cats.
Late last week, the two-week old cubs made their public debut, while trying to figure out how to drink milk from a baby bottle. Lions bred in captivity can live up to 20 years and these three certainly look like they'll be fine.
It is estimated that there are currently only 300 white lions in the world - all of them in captivity. While white lions were always rare in the wild, they have been completely extinct for the last twelve years. Though amazing to look at, white lions are at a disadvantage in the wild because their color makes it hard for them to blend in with their surroundings.
The white lion is not a different species, but a rare color mutation (change in cell makeup), of the Kruger subspecies of lions. They were originally found in the Timbavati and Kruger National Parks in South Africa. Most of the white lions that are in captivity have been bred with the mutation gene in an attempt to deliberately produce more lions with this coloration.
Source:Telegraph.co.uk, DailyMail.co.uk
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225 Comments
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- temma19about 6 yearsthey are soooooooooo adorable
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