Endangered White Lion Cub On Display at Area Sanctuary

TYLER (AP/STAFF) — A rare 7-week-old white lion cub is on public display at an animal sanctuary just north of Tyler. The little African lioness named Luna arrived last week. Someone came across the cub at a breeding facility and brought it to the Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary. She is among fewer than 500 white lions left in the world. Sanctuary director Emily Owen says white lions are endangered due to over hunting. Only about a dozen white lions are left in the wild due to poachers and “canned hunting facilities” where people pay to hunt the lions. The 12 pound cub is bottle-fed every two to three hours. When she is six months old, she will be moved to her own habitat.