By . Emily Davies . PUBLISHED: . 08:23 EST, 29 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:28 EST, 29 March 2013 . You have heard of the Easter Bunny but these rare white lion cubs are giving an African twist on the spring bank holiday. Just four days old, the sleepy eyed cubs are seen rolling around these colourful Easter eggs with handler, Kirsty Trusler, at the Lion Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. Ms Trusler, 24, from Lancaster, is responsible for caring for the rare white lion cubs who are two of just 50 in their native country of South Africa. Baby white lion cubs just four days old play with Easter eggs at the Lion Park in Johannesburg, South Africa . The two rare cubs were bred at Johannesburg's Lion Park which specialises in white lions . White Lions are not albinos, but a . genetic rarity unique to the Timbavati region. Like blue eyes in humans, . the animals' white colour is caused by a recessive gene shared by both . parents. The earliest recorded sighting of . white lions in the Timbavati region was in 1938. However, the oral . records of African elders indicate that these unique animals survived in . this region for many centuries. Since their discovery white lions have been hunted, and forcibly removed from their natural endemic habitat. The baby white lions are cared for by Kirsty Trusler (left) at Johannesburg's Lion Park in South Africa . The white lion species is endangered because their light coats make it harder for them to camouflage . The last white lion was seen in the wild in 1994, after which time they were technically extinct in the wild. The survival of white lions has been . attributed by some to their very whiteness meaning they lack the . camouflage of the tawny lions. The Johannesburg Lion Park has specialised in . breeding programmes designed to discourage the inter-breeding of the . white lion and have agreements with other white lion breeders to ensure . genetic integrity. White lions are native to only the . Greater Timbavati region of South Africa, an area characterised by white . sandy riverbeds and long grass scorched pale by the sun. They . are regarded as sacred animals by the people of that region, but after . Europeans 'discovered' them in the 1970s, many were taken from the wild . to captive breeding and hunting operations. These . removals, along with lion culling and trophy hunting of male lions, . depleted the gene pool and the animals have been technically extinct in . the wild for the past 19 years. White lions are native to only the Greater Timbavati region of South Africa, an area with sandy riverbeds and long grass scorched pale by the sun . Snuggle up: The four-day-old white lion cubs are two of just 50 white lions in South Africa . In . their natural habitat, white lions are regarded as 'apex predators', . able to hunt successfully in day and night and take down prey as large . as giraffes. Despite their rarity, white lions are . not yet classified as endangered because biologists still regard them as . ultimately the same as their tawny equivalents. The . Global White Lion Protection Trust is campaigning for white lions to be . recognised as a subspecies of lions, so that they can be protected . under international law. However, . the genetic marker that makes white lions unique has not yet been . identified by scientists and research into the animals is ongoing. The . trust estimates that there are no more than 300 white lions in . existence. In recent years it has reintroduced the animals to a nature . reserve within Greater Timbavati in an effort to eventually reintroduce . the gene to wild lions.
Two four-day-old cubs were photographed in Johannesburg, South Africa .
Just 300 white lions left in the world, but not treated as endangered .
By . Emily Davies . PUBLISHED: . 08:23 EST, 29 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:28 EST, 29 March 2013 . You have heard of the Easter Bunny but these rare white lion cubs are giving an African twist on the spring bank holiday. Just four days old, the sleepy eyed cubs are seen rolling around these colourful Easter eggs with handler, Kirsty Trusler, at the Lion Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. Ms Trusler, 24, from Lancaster, is responsible for caring for the rare white lion cubs who are two of just 50 in their native country of South Africa. Baby white lion cubs just four days old play with Easter eggs at the Lion Park in Johannesburg, South Africa . The two rare cubs were bred at Johannesburg's Lion Park which specialises in white lions . White Lions are not albinos, but a . genetic rarity unique to the Timbavati region. Like blue eyes in humans, . the animals' white colour is caused by a recessive gene shared by both . parents. The earliest recorded sighting of . white lions in the Timbavati region was in 1938. However, the oral . records of African elders indicate that these unique animals survived in . this region for many centuries. Since their discovery white lions have been hunted, and forcibly removed from their natural endemic habitat. The baby white lions are cared for by Kirsty Trusler (left) at Johannesburg's Lion Park in South Africa . The white lion species is endangered because their light coats make it harder for them to camouflage . The last white lion was seen in the wild in 1994, after which time they were technically extinct in the wild. The survival of white lions has been . attributed by some to their very whiteness meaning they lack the . camouflage of the tawny lions. The Johannesburg Lion Park has specialised in . breeding programmes designed to discourage the inter-breeding of the . white lion and have agreements with other white lion breeders to ensure . genetic integrity. White lions are native to only the . Greater Timbavati region of South Africa, an area characterised by white . sandy riverbeds and long grass scorched pale by the sun. They . are regarded as sacred animals by the people of that region, but after . Europeans 'discovered' them in the 1970s, many were taken from the wild . to captive breeding and hunting operations. These . removals, along with lion culling and trophy hunting of male lions, . depleted the gene pool and the animals have been technically extinct in . the wild for the past 19 years. White lions are native to only the Greater Timbavati region of South Africa, an area with sandy riverbeds and long grass scorched pale by the sun . Snuggle up: The four-day-old white lion cubs are two of just 50 white lions in South Africa . In . their natural habitat, white lions are regarded as 'apex predators', . able to hunt successfully in day and night and take down prey as large . as giraffes. Despite their rarity, white lions are . not yet classified as endangered because biologists still regard them as . ultimately the same as their tawny equivalents. The . Global White Lion Protection Trust is campaigning for white lions to be . recognised as a subspecies of lions, so that they can be protected . under international law. However, . the genetic marker that makes white lions unique has not yet been . identified by scientists and research into the animals is ongoing. The . trust estimates that there are no more than 300 white lions in . existence. In recent years it has reintroduced the animals to a nature . reserve within Greater Timbavati in an effort to eventually reintroduce . the gene to wild lions.
Trusler, at the Lion Park in Johannesburg, South rare cubs were bred at Johannesburg's Lion Park Johannesburg's Lion Park in South Africa . The more than 300 white lions in . existence. In