To raise further awareness, here are some facts about the white lion from South Africa.
There are less than 300 left in the world today !
The white lion is the same subspecies as the Southern African lion (Panthera leo melanochaita), which is also found in some wildlife reserves in South Africa and in zoos around the world. White lions are not albinos, but leucistic. They have hazel or golden color, blue-gray, or green-gray pigment visible in the eyes.
A few blue-eyed white lions exist and may be selectively bred. White lions range from blonde to near-white. The males have pale manes and tail tips instead of the usual dark tawny or black.
Until 2009, when the first pride of white lions was reintroduced again to the wild, it was widely thought that the white lion could not survive in the wild. It is for this reason that most of the population of white lions now reside in zoos and private lions parks.
White lions of the Global White Lion Protection Trust (GWLPT) have been slowly reintroduced into their natural habitat and have been successfully hunting and breeding without human intervention.
Sadly, another white lion Elvis from Jugomaro lion park was killed last week.
Read the full article here :
https://www.news24.com/Video/SouthAfrica/News/watch-devastated-predator-park-owner-discovers-poisoned-lions-and-tiger-20180525
I personally met Elvis in 2012 when he was still a youngster.
Here are some pictures I took of him:
Some more pictures of the magnificent white lion:
Video Clips:
@bernardtjames