White Lions entrance

This exhibit opened as Big Cat Canyon in 1975, containing three 1-year old White tigers. In February and in August of 1988, the Zoo attained rare African White Lion cubs (Panthera leo krugeri) donated to the zoo by Siegfried and Roy. These lions successfully bred four offspring in April 2001 and they are on display today. The Cincinnati zoo was the only place in the only U.S. displaying them until 3 off the offspring were transferred to the Toledo Zoo in 2001. The zoo is also the only place in the U/S. breeding them (not currently breeding).


If you want to learn all the species at the zoo that are on display and all the exhibits and the history of them, accomplishments, rhino and cat conservation, names of most of the animals, zoo babies that are up to date, then check out my Cincinnati Zoo Wikia Travel page. If you would like to change something please tell me and I will. http://travel.wikia.com/wiki/Cincinnati_Zoo

How many white lions does the zoo currently have? You mention that there were four offspring born...are all four still at the zoo?

Can you post some pictures of the lions and their habitat?

Update: just found the picture you posted, thanks:
http://www.zoochat.com/556/siegfried-amp-roys-white-lions-timbavati-222962/

DavidBrown said:

How many white lions does the zoo currently have? You mention that there were four offspring born...are all four still at the zoo?

Can you post some pictures of the lions and their habitat?

Click to expand...

Yep, two males and two females, they rotate every other day/ Here are some pics of it

heres one outside the exhibit

http://www.zoochat.com/556/siegfried-amp-roys-white-lions-timbavati-222962/

and heres one from in it

http://www.zoochat.com/556/siegfried-amp-roys-white-lions-timbavati-224078/

I have not taken any pics of the lions but other people have

http://www.zoochat.com/556/white-lions-210586/

http://www.zoochat.com/556/white-lions-cincinnati-zoo-215613/

http://www.zoochat.com/556/panthera-leo-timbavati-41738/

http://www.zoochat.com/556/white-lion-exhibit-may-2004-a-200115/

Some thorough research of white lions in captivity:

WHITE LIONS IN CAPTIVITY TODAY

gerenuk said:

Some thorough research of white lions in captivity:

WHITE LIONS IN CAPTIVITY TODAY

Click to expand...

Seeing that some of the offspring are at the Toledo zoo, I changed by description. Sorry for the false info, I got the facts from something that was published over 10 years ago

Thanks for the info and photos Cinzoo man and gerenuk. From geomorph's review of Siegfried and Roy's zoo thing in Las Vegas it looks like there are some white lions there too (or at least were when he wrote the review in 2010).

http://www.zoochat.com/22/review-siegfried-roys-secret-garden-dolphin-196671/

DavidBrown said:

Thanks for the info and photos Cinzoo man and gerenuk. From geomorph's review of Sigfried and Roy's zoo thing in Las Vegas it looks like there are some white lions there too (or at least were when he wrote the review in 2010).

http://www.zoochat.com/22/review-siegfried-roys-secret-garden-dolphin-196671/

Click to expand...

No problem, I should've assumed that there were more in the U.S., especially since there are over 500 of them. Oh well at least we were the first to breed them, along with 10's of hundreds of other "first" species births.

There are white lions in Las Vegas and Philadelphia - all the white lions in the US are descendants from the white lions in Philadelphia.

http://www.messybeast.com/genetics/tran-kanya-tandi.png

As Gerenuk points out, Philadelphia was the first in the U.S. both to exhibit white lions and to breed them. The initial post here says Cincinnati got them in 1988, but in fact it should be 1998. Incidentally, the link to MessyBeast (a fantastic site overall) has an error as well regarding Philadelphia. It is correct in stating they had (and still have) two white and two tawny (but carriers of the white gene). It is incorrect, however, in stating they consist of two females and two males. In fact they consist of three females and one male.

I have seen and photographed the white lions of Philadelphia, Cincinnati (when the cubs were only a few months old), Las Vegas Mirage, Philadelphia cubs on temporary loan at Lowry Park Zoo. (I believe these moved to Toronto Zoo after the loan).

Two males Sunshine and Future, and one female, Prosperity, were given to the zoo in 1998 by Siegfried and Roy. Prosperity and Sunshine mated and on August 1, 2001, the first litter of white lions was born in the U.S., giving them the Pride of the Millennium by Siegfried and Roy. Prosperity gave birth to four offspring, three males- Courage, Wisdom, and Legend who live at the Toledo Zoo-Gracious, the female who still remains at the Cincinnati Zoo with the other lions.

From my review