White Wild Cats: 4 plus 3 equals Lucky 7

(Photo by Petar Milosevic)

During this past week, seven white wild cats (four lions and three tigers) were born at a private zoo in Borysew, Poland.

White lions are extremely rare, with “at most only a few hundred… in the world.”  Ancient African folklore explains that these beautiful animals are “children of the Sun God, sent to earth as gifts.”

An accompanying legend states that more than 400 years ago, “a shining ball of metal” fell to earth in the Timbavati region.  This “fallen star… rose back into the sky” after a few days. “Animals with strange deformities” (such as two-headed cattle and white lions) then began to appear.  Some now wonder whether that legendary “star” was actually a radioactive spaceship.

These white/blond lions are not albinos, but rather “the expression of recessive (hidden) genes through inbreeding.”  Scientists theorize that these recessive genes harken back to the days when lions thrived in snowy and desert regions.

Resources

http://messybeast.com/genetics/lions-white.htm

https://www.yahoo.com/news/4-white-lions-3-white-tigers-born-zoo-121937700.html

Copyright September 25, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved