#lostforever

White lions are rare and highly appreciated, often considered divine and royal.

And sometimes you caught them strike a pose like a blonde diva.

These White Lion (Panthera leo) are not albinos, they are a rare mutation of colour in lions. And it only occurs in one area of the world: In the Kruger-to-canyons Biosphere in Southern Africa. The otherwise tawny prides here carry the gene, and even if the cubs are caught or killed, there are still white lions being born.

Careless care

Unfortunately, lions in South Africa are no longer considered threatened, meaning the trade in everything lion-related has increased. From trophy hunting to bone-trading for "medicinal" purposes.

This includes trading with white lions, even though they are pretty rare. For a time, they went extinct in the wild, but were reintroduced in the hunter free Kruger National Park in 2014.

In Thailand after the closure of Bangkok Dusit Zoo, there are white lions spread out to seven other zoos as late as 2018.

Passable conditions for big cats

The lion enclosures was each comprised of an outside spacious area and also a hidden den or night room at the back end of the enclosure.

The animals had a pond or a moat for bathing all filled plentifully. It was plentiful of grass and natural vegetation. The big cats had natural enrichment, scratching posts and pulley systems for food enrichment. Facilities had caves and some platformed areas to climb.

I find myself doing this more and more frequently. A smart and easy way for health and environment to improve is to increase the amount of vegetables and fruits in the daily diet.

The Black-crowned/Black-capped Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) is a medium sized heron, a bit more stocky design than other herons and egrets. It is found in most of the world, except from the coldest areas and in Zealandia and Australia. It prefer fresh and salt-water wetlands.

They feed on small fish, insects, small mammals and birds, frogs and crustaceans. Night herons are among the herons using tools, they use bait to lure prey into striking distance.

Flexible approach

The adult birds are appx 65 cm long, and weighs in around 800 gram. The male version is normally slightly larger than the female, but otherwise they look similar.

In resting pose, they look huddled and hunched. But this fellow, looking for food, has its neck stretched as they do when hunting. Their plumage is white/grey on adult, while younger specimens have a more brown colouring.

You may wonder if Whitey seriously considering reducing the amount of bleach in his shampoo.

Not exactly white privilege

White tigers are the result of a natural lack of pigmentation in tigers. It happen for about 1 out of 10 000 kittens.

Even if the tigers born with this are larger by birth and grow bigger faster than their yellow siblings, the lack of camouflage mean they get killed early and are extremely rare in the wild.

Royale flare

For centuries, white tigers have been associated with royalty and extreme opulence.

The several hundred white tigers alive are almost all in captivity, often selective bred there. They are still sought after for exhibition, entertainment and trophies with a royal flare.

Fun fact: when white tigers get stressed, they get cross-eyed…

Acceptable captivity

The tigers kept in captivity at Dusit Zoo were considered well treated, according to animal welfare NGOs.

The tiger enclosures was each comprised of an outside spacious area and also a hidden den or night room at the back end of the enclosure.

The animals had a pond or a moat for bathing all filled plentifully. It was plentiful of grass and natural vegetation. The big cats had natural enrichment, scratching posts and pulley systems for food enrichment. Facilities had caves and some platformed areas to climb.

Health conditions of the animals was observed as good. No overcrowding, good body conditions and none visible injuries. By way of mental health, there was none observation of nervous, dissatisfied pacing. The cats performed in natural positive behaviours such as scent marking, sniffing, patrolling territory, sleeping and eating were all observed. Tigers appeared relaxed and at ease with surroundings, as its stated in the report, based on three inspections over five years until Dusit Zoo was closed down.

Sleepy douc using red-shank headrest for a nap

The doucs are a family of monkeys often associated with langurs, and is referred to as costume monkeys. They are the most colourful monkeys there are, this one with red shanks, blue and grey fur, yellow-red face and blueish "eye-makeup".

Critical conditions

The doucs are all native to Indochine, the red shanks doucs are native to PR Laos, Viet Nam and northern Cambodia. They are critically endangered, hunted for medicin, food and glue-production. And, being tree-dwellers, human building projects involving removing forest and jungle.

During the hottest hours of the day they seek together and sleeps until the temperature is cooler for having fun, the food and party.

I can totally relate to that.