White Lions
By Luisa Mackie
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Primary 5
Contents Page
1.Front Cover
2.Contents Page
3.Introduction
4.Where do white lions live?
5.What do white lions eat?
6.Who discovered white lions?
7.Breeding White Lions
8.Other Facts About White Lions
9.Illustrations of white lions
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Introduction
Primary 5 have been reading
‘The Butterfly Lion’ by Michael
Morpurgo. In the book there
was a white lion cub, so we
decided to do a project about
white lions.
I have found out some
interesting facts about white
lions.
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Where do white lions live?
The white lion originally lived in the
Timbavati region of South Africa.
However the species has been hunted
and captured, so most white lions are
now in captivity or in zoos.
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What do white lions eat?
White lions are carnivorous and are meat
eating animals. They mostly eat herbivorous
animals such as gazelles, zebras, buffaloes,
wild rabbits, tortoises and wildebeests.
They have features that greatly help them to
attack and kill their prey. White lions have
sharp teeth and claws. They are very patient
and stalk their prey and hunt in packs.
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Who discovered white lions?
White lions were first discovered in the
1970’s in Chris McBride’s book ‘The White
Lions of Timbavati’. Up until 2009, when
the first pride of white lions were placed
back into the wild, it was widely believed
that the white lion could not survive in
the wild.
It is for this reason that a large part of
the population of white lions now live in
zoos.
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Breeding White Lions
White lions can be bred for zoos, animal shows
and wildlife parks. Such breeding can cause
genetic defects and physical defects.
People are concerned about white lions mating
with other lions, due to the possible extinction of
the white lion.
Some people believe that white lions should not
be put into the wild because of the inbreeding
that has taken place in zoos.
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Other Facts About White Lions
 White Lions are not albinos – they are unique to the
Timbavati region
 The earliest recorded sighting of a white lion was in 1938
 Since their discovery, White lions have been hunted and
removed from there natural habitat
 Since 2004, three prides of white lions have been returned
to their natural habitat in the Timbavati region
 The idea that white lions cannot survive in the wild, due to
lack of camouflage, has not been proven
 Currently, there is no law to protect white lions
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