The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest recorded sighting in this region was in 1938. Regarded as divine by some African cultures, white lions first became known to the English-speaking world in the 1977 through the book The White Lions of Timbavati.
