By Luisa Mackie Primary 5 White Lions By Luisa Mackie Primary 5

Contents Page Front Cover Contents Page Introduction Where do white lions live? What do white lions eat? Who discovered white lions? Breeding White Lions Other Facts About White Lions Illustrations of white lions

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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