Beautiful White Lion Cubs: cute costly and controversial, pictures and facts

I have always been an animal lover, this is true - all animals - all kinds, especially animal babies, who hold a special place in my heart. I have also had a tendency to favor cats, maybe it's their independent nature, or perhaps their smaller size made them a preferable companion for an apartment dweller. So it is no surprise that the minute I viewed these adorable little white lion cubs, with crystal bright blue eyes, I fell in love. I soon learned however -- that these exotic babies are far from your average house cat. These regal cuties fetch a hefty $138,000 and come from South Africa, where some locals still view them as the magical and divine creatures that they truly are!

Unfortunately, as with many creatures that are now considered extinct, the White Lions of South Africa have been hunted to extinction and are currently being bred almost purely for canned hunting trophies. As an advocate for the White Lions, Linda Tucker, the founder of The Global White Lion Protection Trust and author of "The Mystery of the White Lions: Children of the Sun God", has brought well needed attention to this cause. She has made it her life's mission to reintroduce the White Lions into the wild and safeguard their future. She has furthered our knowledge of the White Lion's plight through various educational events and implemented community development programs in an effort to further scientific research.

Since Linda Tucker established the Global White Lion Protection Trust in 2002, she has rescued one White Lioness and her three cubs from a zoo and successfully released them into a special reserve.Though Marah, the Lioness, died in 2007, her cubs have gone on to form two healthy prides with three new cubs, the first born outside captivity since 1991. Tucker is currently working with her partner and ecologist Jason Turner as well as American geneticists to determine the gene that could get the White Lion placed on the endangered species list. At the 2009 World Wilderness Congress in Mexico, 54 Countries passed a resolution that they should be protected, so hopes are high!

• White Lions are not albinos, rather a genetic rarity The white color is caused by a recessive gene known as chinchilla or color inhibitor . Their color varies from blonde to near white.
• White Lions were thought to be just a legend until 1938, evident in ancient paintings stretching back 15,000 years
• The unique White Lion gene is carried by certain of the Tawny Lions in the region, and White Cubs occurred in numerous prides
  
• There are only an estimated 300 - 500 White Lions worldwide - all in captivity except a recent addition thanks to Linda Tucker's tireless dedication
  
• Their striking appearance, once worshiped has now marked them out as hunting trophies worth tens of thousands of dollars. Often drugged and baited into a fenced area, these beautiful animals become sitting targets who suffer agonizing and senseless deaths
• A further struggle the White Lion faces is due to the genetic code Panthera leo which marks them as a subspecies that has not yet been discovered so they are not even on the list of endangered species
• The idea that White Lions are genetically inferior to ordinary tawny lions has not been scientifically tested
• The idea that White Lions cannot survive in the wild due to perceived inability to camouflage has also not been scientifically tested
• Sadly, there is no current law, nationally or internationally that protects the White Lions from being wiped off the face of the earth
  

This poem is a surreal and exceptionally powerful poem that explores tribal and ancestral belief systems, and highlights the respect and awe that lions once had.

“There are eternal images somewhere I have been in my dreams.
I long to return to the sands where lions roam,
sit as sun statues and roar in the night winds.
I have heard them singing of golden rings,
of fire in my belly, while ashes and petals blew in the alleys
with yesterday's news.
Red with ceremony was the light
and women's bodies did not harden
as they stood in the shadows watching winos commune
with jackals and the children play with paper sails.
Among the kohl eyes and black draped women
shopping in the bizarre, I long to wander free
as a winged creature in the shape of a hieroglyph,
in the shape of mystery, in the curve of linen…
I long to see the women in the streets
who speak to me from their eyes;
hear them as they say:
Welcome home my sister, my brother.
I feel their presence now and know that we are one.
If this life is fragile and we are often too easily broken,
then let today be the day we celebrate love,
so beautifully transparent with its perfumes and melancholy vines.
Follow me to where the lions roam free
and give over your weary heart to rest in mine.
Come with me to the gates of magic
where the mountains have names
are celebrated for their wisdom
alive in the whispering winds of grace.
I long to be once again in pristine gardens,
in God's country
listening to the wild things speak.
Walk with me now where destiny is written in the stars
and your ancestors sing your song back to you so
you will remember who you are.
Let us be where the journey is loving
where the tribesmen know secrets we have forgotten.
Come with me now where the white lions are walking.
I have heard them calling your name.”