THE National Zoo and Aquarium is celebrating the birthdays of Jake and Mishka, the zoo’s resident white lion twins, who turn 13 today (October 23).
Unwrapping their gifts of meat and soft toys to a crowd of school children and young families this morning, the twins were as playful and boisterous as they were mischievous.
“Mishka is an amazingly playful cat,” says Bec Scott, the zoo’s wildlife and grounds manager.
“She’s really cheeky [and] she sometimes stirs her brother up.”
Jake, on the other hand, is the more serious of the pair, taking on his role as king of the pen, Bec says.
Jake and Mishka originate from the same litter and emigrated in 2008 from South Africa where they are “technically” extinct, says Bec.
While their stark white fur might make them the star of the show, the twins are neither white nor albino, says Bec. Instead, they have a condition known as Leucism whereby their fur lacks pigmentation.
It would be more accurate to call them blonde lions, rather than white, she says.
Lions in captivity can live for more than 20 years, according to Bec.
Who can be trusted?
In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.
If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.
Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.
Thank you,
Ian Meikle, editor
Leave a Reply