A rare white lion cub has been born in a zoo in southern Brazil, the first for the Latin American nation.
Two-month-old female cub Clara is reportedly in good health. She was rejected by her mother shortly after giving birth but zookeepers at Beto Carrero World in Santa Catarina have been feeding the adorable cub every few hours a diet of goats’ milk mixed with essential vitamins.
For the time being, Clara is in a pen isolated from the zoo’s other lions but keepers expect to re-introduce her to her pack at six months of age.
Clara’s parents were brought over to the Brazilian zoo from Pretoria, South Africa in 2011.
Contrary to popular opinion, white lions are not albinos. They are color mutations of a certain subspecies of lion, and quite rare.
Unfortunately, their color makes them easy prey for hunters in the wild due to their lack of camouflage. Most white lions are held captive in zoos and circuses worldwide.
(Reuters)
