Pic/AFP

A four-month-old white lion cub cuddles up to its father Sam inside their enclosure at a zoo in Tbilisi. White lions are native to the wildlife reserves in South Africa and in zoos around the world. 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.