<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (October 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion . Up until 2009, when the first pride of white lions was reintroduced to 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 reside in zoos . </P> <P> White lions in the area of Timbavati is the same subspecies as the tawny Southeast African lion (Panthera leo krugeri) found in some wildlife reserves in South Africa, and in zoological parks around the world . They were thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest recorded sighting in this region was in 1938 . Regarded as divine by locals, white lions first came to public attention in the 1970s, in Chris McBride's book The White Lions of Timbavati . </P> <P> White lions of Mazanie are not albinos . Their white color is caused by a recessive trait derived from a less - severe mutation in the same gene that causes albinism, distinct from the gene responsible for white tigers . They vary from blonde to near - white . This coloration does not appear to disadvantage their survival . The white lions of the Global White Lion Protection Trust (GWLPT) have been reintroduced into their natural habitat and have been hunting and breeding successfully without human intervention for a significant amount of time . </P>

Where are white lions found in the world