Honey and Kwanza, Dog and Lion Cub

Posted by justanotherday on March 14, 2013
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“Honey the dog and Kwanza the white lion cub are the best of friends. Kwanza’s mother was originally rearing him until she stopped producing milk, which led him to being hand raised by the owners at Darling Downs Zoo. During this period he has developed a special bond with the zoo dog ‘Honey’ as they spend time exploring, wrestling and otherwise playing together.
Kwanza was born on the 12th of November 2012 at a respectable 1600 grams. Now at around 4 months of age and he is a very robust and energetic young lion.

The white lion is not a separate species of lion nor is it an albino. They have visible pigment in their eyes, paw pads and lips. The males grow pale manes and tail tips.

The white colour is the result of a recessive gene, called a chinchilla gene, which is a colour inhibitor. This can result in “white” lions being blonde, near white or even red! White lions are described as being leucistic rather than albinistic.

No white lions have been seen in the wild since 1994.

For more info on Kwanza: http://www.darlingdownszoo.com.au

Darling Downs Zoo is based in Pilton, Queensland.

Sound: Rachael Wasiak
Music: ‘African Fields’ by Vizion-Studios – Audiojungle.net
Created by Adam Cox (Creatura Channel)

Update: 14/03/12
A lot of questions about the future of these two once Kwanza becomes a big lion.
Although they are great pals, the situation is temporary as Kwanza will need to work on his lion friendships too ;)
Honey will be okay, she is adored by the zoo owners.”

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