Pictured just two days old, these three beautiful white lion cubs are already proving quite the handful for their doting mother.
The playful youngsters could barely open their eyes, but they were already busy exploring their enclosure at the privately owned Zoo Safari in Borysewo, central Poland.
His mother, the white lioness Azira, certainly seemed to have her paws full as her newborns climbed on her back up to all sorts of mischief.
The pride of the mother: the white lioness Azira is pictured with her three beautiful newborn cubs
Mane attraction: newborn lions to become big celebrities at Zoo Safari in Borysewo, central Poland
Born on January 28, they will become a big attraction at the private zoo, as there are believed to be fewer than fifty white lions in the world.
White lions are native only to the Greater Timbavati region of South Africa, an area characterized by white sandy riverbeds and long sunburnt grass.
People in that region consider them sacred animals, but after they were ‘discovered’ by Europeans in the 1970s, many were taken from the wild into captive breeding and hunting operations, according to the Global White Lion Protection Trust.
These removals, along with lion culling and trophy hunting of male lions, depleted the gene pool and the animals have technically been extinct in the wild for the past 12 years.
Nuzzle: Loving mother Azira tends to one of her newborns
Squeaker – One of the small pups, with its eyes barely open, yells for attention.
Curious: an adventurous cub climbs on the back of his mother, the white lioness Azira, at the Polish zoo
In the wild, white lions are considered “apex predators,” capable of successfully hunting day and night, bringing down prey as large as giraffes.
Despite their rarity, white lions are not yet classified as endangered because biologists still consider them equal to their tawny counterparts.
The Global White Lion Protection Trust is campaigning for white lions to be recognized as a subspecies of lions, so they can be protected under international law.
However, the genetic marker that makes white lions unique has yet to be identified by scientists and research on the animals is ongoing.
Protector: Mother lion Azira bares her fangs
Despite their rarity, white lions are not yet classified as endangered because biologists still consider them equal to their tawny counterparts.
The white lioness Azira keeps a close eye on one of her triplets. The pups were born on January 28.