The Jinan white lion, which is more precious than the giant panda, was born! How much do you know about it?

Most people's impression of the lion is yellow and strong, but among the many lion species, the white lion can be regarded as a special existence, because it is more precious than the giant panda. Recently, a pair of twin white lions were born in Jinan. What do you know about white lions?

I. the birth of the white lion

During the past National Day holiday, a pair of white lions were born in the Wildlife World in Jinan, Shandong Province. The white lion twins are rare because there are fewer than a hundred white lions in the world. As one of the rarest mammals in the world, Jinan is very precious for the birth of white lion cubs. Since the 1970s, because white lions are so rare, people have begun to bring back white lions from the wild, or brown lions with white lion genes for protection. Compared with the giant panda, the national treasure of our country, the number of white lions in the world is more rare.

What is the White Lion?

White lions, also known as albino African lions, belong to the offspring of African lions, but have undergone certain genetic mutations; males generally grow a long mane in adulthood, while females do not. Its living habits are similar to those of African lions. They are social animals and often hunt in grasslands or open jungles. There is no limit to the breeding period, which is available all the year round. The sexual maturity period is about 3 years old, and there are about 110 days of pregnancy. Each baby can give birth to 2 to 4 cubs, with a life expectancy of 20 Mel 25 years.

White lions are born with white hair, so it is difficult to integrate into brown-haired lions such as African lions, basically living alone. Therefore, although the white lion is a lion, it is difficult to find food without the group; its coat color is more conspicuous in the wild environment, and its concealment is poor, resulting in low success rate of predation and difficult survival, so it is easy to die young.

III. The origin of the white lion species

The white lion is not an albino animal with light blue eyes. Related studies have shown that white lions probably appeared in ancient times, growing in cold environments such as the Arctic, and their living areas are covered with ice and snow all the year round. White can play a good protective role, after biological evolution, this species gradually disappeared, but the gene of white hair still exists in a small number of yellow African lions. Therefore, the parents of white lion babies found in South Africa are ordinary yellow African lions, which have been artificially raised and bred to form the present white lion family.