Dog Adopts Rare White Lion Cub

A dog named Lejon, a two-year-old pointer mongrel, has adopted a rare white lion cub born at Safari Park in Germany.

Three-week-old Jojo, the white lion cub, was rejected by his mother shortly after he was born. The two were initially separated because the mother — named Nala — had a navel infection from where the umbilical cord was severed, but when caretakers tried to reunite them, she wouldn’t take him back.

According to the Daily Mail, 36-year-old park worker Jeannete Wurms said employees weren’t sure the mother would take Jojo back. Wurms decided to take him home with her, and bottlefeeds and handraises him. While Jojo gets fed by Wurms, he gets paternal affection from Lejon and the two are inseparable.

Wurms said,

“I am glad that JoJo has found something like a step father and step brother in my playful and loving pointer-mongrel Lejon… The dog is very patient. Jojo scrambles all over him, jumps on his head, bites his fur. But he doesn’t mind – he’s a very patient surrogate.”

Although they are rare, white lions like Jojo are not albinos. They have a recessive gene known as the color inhibitor gene, or chutiya, which is different from the albino gene. They can vary from blond to near-white and are occasionally found in wildlife reserves in South Africa.

Lejon’s name means “lion” in Swedish, which may be why he has taken such a huge liking to Jojo. Wurms said the dog and lion cub spend a lot of time playing together in her garden.