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The white lion is not a distinct subspecies, but a special
morph with a genetic condition, leucism, that causes paler
colouration akin to that of the white tiger; |
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the condition is similar to
melanism, which causes black panthers. White Transvaal lion (Panthera
leo krugeri) individuals occasionally have been encountered in
and around Kruger National Park and the adjacent Timbavati
Private Game Reserve in eastern South Africa, but are more
commonly found in captivity, where breeders deliberately
select them. The unusual cream color of their coats is due to
a recessive gene. Reportedly, they have been bred in camps in
South Africa for use as trophies for canned hunts.
Confirmation of the existence
of white lions only came in the late twentieth century. For
hundreds of years prior, the white lion had been thought to be
a figment of legend circulating in South Africa, the white
pelage of the animal said to represent the goodness in all
creatures. Sightings were first reported in the early 1900s,
and continued, infrequently, for almost fifty years until, in
1975, a litter of white lion cubs was found at Timbavati Game
Reserve.
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