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Two White Lion Cubs Born in Venezuelan Zoo
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Culture & Society

Two White Lion Cubs Born in Venezuelan Zoo

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Ongoing story
  • Two white lion cubs were born at the Las Delicias Zoo in Maracay, Venezuela, to parents rescued from a wildlife trafficking ring.
  • The cubs, a female weighing 1.4 kg and a male weighing 1.8 kg, are being hand-raised with bottles due to the mother's lack of maternal skills.
  • Zoo officials are monitoring the cubs closely, as the first hours of their lives are critical, and have a reserved prognosis following the death of another cub in December.

The Las Delicias Zoo in Maracay, Venezuela, has welcomed the birth of two rare white lion cubs, a significant event for the facility. These cubs are the offspring of adult white lions that arrived in Venezuela in 2022, having been rescued from a wildlife trafficking network after being brought from the Czech Republic.

The newborn cubs, a female weighing 1.4 kilograms and a male weighing 1.8 kilograms, are currently under intensive care. Their caregivers are manually feeding them with bottles in the maternity area. This hands-on approach is necessary because the mother lion has not exhibited the required maternal instincts for caring for and nursing her young. A team of veterinarians is strictly supervising the process.

The cubs are adapting positively to bottle-feeding, a process that is carried out manually by their caregivers in the maternity area, under the strict supervision of our team of veterinarians.

— Joana SánchezThe governor of Aragua state, describing the care provided to the newborn white lion cubs.

Zoo officials and the governor of Aragua state, Joana Sánchez, have stated that the cubs' initial hours are critical. Consequently, their prognosis remains guarded. This cautious outlook is informed by a previous incident in December, when a white lion cub born at the same zoo died due to complications from infectious kidney problems present from birth.

White lions are not albinos but a rare color variant native to South Africa's Timbavati region and the southern Kruger Park. Discovered in the 1930s, they have been bred in captivity, sometimes for hunting purposes. The Global White Lion Protection Trust classifies them as 'vulnerable,' highlighting the need for strict trade controls to prevent future extinction threats.

The cubs were separated from the mother because she has not developed the necessary maternal skills for care and nursing.

— Zoo officialsExplaining the reason for hand-rearing the cubs.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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