The Rare White Lion King - a photo on Flickriver

For centuries rumors of mysterious white lions had been circulating in South Africa. Confirmation of the existence of white lions only came in the twentieth century. White lions were first recorded in 1928 and in the early 1940s. In 1975, two white cubs were seen at Timbavati Game Reserve, adjacent to Krüger National Park in South Africa. They were roughly two weeks old. The discovery was a sensation. The white specimens proved to be male and female. They were named Temba (Zulu for hope) and Tombi (girl). A few months later Temba en Tombi were taken to the National Zoo in Pretoria, South Africa. The 50 white lions currently in zoos worldwide are descendants of Temba and Tombi. White Lions cannot probable survive in the wild due to perceived lack of camouflage. Adult white lions in the wild have never seen.
White Lions are not albinos, but rare color mutations of the Krüger subspecies of lion (Panthera leo krugeri).
They have a combination of recessive genes which give them a white skin. The genetic condition, leucism, that causes paler colouration akin to that of the white tiger; the condition is similar to melanism, which causes black panthers. The white lion has been perpetuated by selective breeding in zoos around the world.
The pictures of the rare white lions were taken at Ouwehands Zoo (Ouwehands Dierenpark) in Rhenen, the Netherlands, which keeps a couple of white lions.

Al eeuwen waren er geruchten in omloop over mysterieuze witte leeuwen in Zuid-Afrika. Bevestiging van het bestaan van witte leeuwen kwam pas in de twintigste eeuw. Witte leeuwen werden voor het eerst geregistreerd in 1928 en in 1941/42. In 1975 werden twee witte welpen aangetroffen in het Timbavati Reservaat, grenzend aan het Krüger Nationaal Park in Zuid-Afrika. De welpjes waren ongeveer twee weken oud. De ontdekking was een sensatie. De witte dieren bleken een mannetje en vrouwtje te zijn. Ze werden Temba (Zulu voor 'hoop') en Tombi ('meisje') genoemd. Een paar maanden later werden Temba en Tombi opgenomen in de National Zoo in Pretoria, Zuid-Afrika. De 50 witte leeuwen wereldwijd in dierentuinen zijn nakomelingen van Temba en Tombi. De laatste witte leeuw werd in 1994 in het wild gezien. Witte leeuwen kunnen waarschijnlijk in het wild niet overleven door de lichte vacht zonder camouflage. Volwassen witte leeuwen zijn in het wild nog nooit gezien.
De witte leeuw is niet een albino, maar een zeldzame kleurmutatie van de Transvaal of Krüger ondersoort van de leeuw (Panthera leo krugeri). De speciale kleurmutatie met een genetische aandoening, leucisme, veroorzaakt een bleke kleuring zoals ook bij de witte tijger. De voorwaarde is enigszins gelijk aan melanisme, die tot zwarte panters leidt.
Door selectief te fokken in dierentuinen over de hele wereld zijn deze leeuwen behouden.
De foto's van de zeldzame witte leeuwen zijn genomen in Ouwehands Dierenpark in Rhenen,
waar een koppeltje witte leeuwen wordt gehouden.
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Site Ouwehands Dierenpark / Zoo in Dutch, English and German: www.ouwehand.nl/
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All rights reserved. Copyright © Martien Uiterweerd. All my images are protected under international authors copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission.
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Taken in: Nederland / Utrecht / Rhenen (show map)

Taken on: October 16, 2010

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Camera: Sony DSLR-A550, f/5.6, 1/160 sec, 140mm (=210mm), ISO 1600 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony DSLR-A550
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
Focal Length:	140mm (35mm equivalent: 210mm)
ISO:	1600
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0 Windows
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