White lion born in Jinan, rarer than the giant panda, do you know about it?

Most people's impression of lions stays with a yellowish coat and a sturdy build, but among the many lion varieties, the white lion counts as a special existence, because it is even rarer than the giant panda. Recently in Jinan, a pair of twin white lions were born. So what do you know about white lions?

1. The birth of the white lions

During the National Day holiday that has just passed, a pair of white lions was born at the wildlife world in Jinan, Shandong. This pair of white lion twins is extremely rare, because the number of white lions surviving in the world is already fewer than one hundred. As one of the rarest mammals in the world, the birth of this pair of white lion cubs in Jinan is very precious. Starting in the 1970s, because white lions are extremely rare, people began to deliberately bring white lions, or brown lions carrying white lion genes, back from the wild for protected keeping. Compared with our country's national treasure, the giant panda, white lions are rarer in number worldwide.

2. What is a white lion

The white lion, also called the white African lion, belongs to the descendants of the African lion, but has undergone a certain genetic mutation; generally a male lion grows a long mane after reaching adulthood, while a female lion does not. Its living habits are similar to those of the African lion; it is a social animal and often hunts on grasslands or in open jungles. There is no limit to its breeding period; it can breed all year round, reaches sexual maturity at about 3 years old, has a gestation period of about 110 days, can give birth to 2 to 4 cubs per litter, and has a lifespan of 20-25 years.

Because the white lion is born with a coat of white fur, it is difficult for it to blend into brown-furred lion groups such as African lions, and it basically lives alone. So although the white lion is a lion, it is also difficult for it to find food away from the group; its coat color is rather conspicuous in the wild environment and offers poor camouflage, resulting in a low hunting success rate and a relatively hard survival, so it is prone to dying young.

3. The origin of the white lion species

The white lion is not an animal suffering from albinism, and its eyes are pale blue. Related research shows that the white lion very likely already appeared in ancient times, living in cold environments such as the Arctic, with its living area covered by ice and snow all year round. White can provide very good protection; later, through biological evolution, this species gradually disappeared, but the gene for white fur still exists in the bodies of a few yellow African lions today. Therefore, the parents of the white lion cubs found in South Africa were both ordinary yellow-furred African lions, and later, through artificial keeping and breeding, today's white lion family was formed.