Lion mutated white fur at Peru zoo

The white coat makes it difficult for the pair of young lions to live in the wild due to being discovered by hunters and prey.

Two mutant lions with extremely rare white fur yesterday were first released at Huachipa zoo in Peru's capital Lima, according to AFP. They were taken from Mexico for the purpose of conservation and scientific research.

White lion in Huachipa zoo.

The pair of baby lions, including a 5-month-old male and a 4-month-old female, are in very good health. They weigh about 50kg, eat 5kg of meat a day and soon reveal the wild nature from an early age.

According to veterinarian Celia Diaz, the unusual white coat of the lion is not a result of albino disease, but a gene variant is also found in white tigers. The striking coat color makes it difficult to camouflage when hunting and is easy to pay attention to hunters, so it is difficult to survive in the wild."White lions are very rare and are facing the risk of extinction," Celia stressed.

Zoo Huachipa exchanged some animals to bring the lions from Mexico. In addition to research and conservation purposes, the emergence of white lions at the zoo will help raise visitors' awareness about the protection of rare and precious wildlife species.

A pair of white lions frolicking at Huachipa Zoo.(Video: Reuter).