November 15, 2019 11.45 am This story is over 53 months old

Rare white lions arrive at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park

White Lions are an endangered species

Pascha (pictured) and Uganda were offered to Lincolnshire Wildlife Park from a private collector for long-term sanctuary. Photo: Lincolnshire Wildlife Park

Lincolnshire Wildlife Park has welcomed its first ever white lions this week, releasing them into their custom designed enclosure.

The rare animals named Pascha and Uganda, who are both 10 years old, were offered from a private collector for long-term sanctuary at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in Friskney, Lincolnshire.

Pascha and Uganda arrived at the park earlier this week to start their quarantine period before being released into the enclosure.

The two male White Lions were unveiled by Children in Needs’ Pudsey Bear at the park at 10am on Friday, November 15.

The two male White Lions were unveiled by Children in Needs’ Pudsey Bear on Friday, November 15. Photo: Lincolnshire Wildlife Park

The enclosure allows for sensory vision for visitors, so people can get up to just 39mm from the huge creatures behind bullet proof glass, or listen and smell them as they walk past the 300mm protective mesh.

The animals will start their lives at the park in “five star central heated accommodation, which offers multi faceted facilities to include a swimming pool with waterfalls, sand pits, climbing poles and basking areas”.

White Lions are listed in the IUCN’s (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List as becoming highly endangered, with only 11 animals left in the wild due to the hunting laws in Africa.

Andrew Ferguson, the sanctuary’s Communication Officer, said: “This is another major addition to the sanctuary and very exciting, there’s a real buzz around the place especially where our social media is concerned.

“Steve Nichols our CEO has become a bit of an internet sensation with the park’s Facebook Live Videos, we’ve had over 1 million viewings of our videos of our tigers so this is going to send it through the roof.

“He mentioned the new animals’ arrival but kept it a secret and since then we have been receiving hundreds of enquiries guessing what we could be taking on from our eagerly awaiting supporters.”