- Title: ARGENTINA: RARE ALBINO LION CUB MAKES FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE.
- Date: 17th April 1977
- Summary: 1. GV Circus in La Plata, Argentina 0.05 2. SVs & CU Father of albino lion cub in cage (2 shots) 0.23 3. CUs Mother of albino cub in her cage (2 shots) 0.37 4. CU ZOOM OUT Lion trainer holding albino cub with elephant in background 0.48 5. CUs Albino lion cub in trainer's hands (2 shots) 1.08 6. CU Lioness watching and yawning 1.15 7. CU & SVs Albino cub struggling to walk on circus stand (3 shots) 1.26 8. CU Parrots on fence watching 1.28 9. CU Lion cub resting 1.34 Initials BB/1830 Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 2nd May 1977 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LA PLATA, ARGENTINA
- Country: Argentina
- Reuters ID: LVA623X3XYWPM0EFCC1DKAVARP1O
- Story Text: INTRODUCTION: A rare albino lion cub born in Argentina has made his first public appearance -- in a circus, where he was persuaded to take a few wobbly steps in imitation of the tricks his parents perform. His debut took place in La Plata, the Argentine city after which the cub has been named.
SYNOPSIS: The circus was camped in La Plata when the cub was born. The father is a male Siberian lion from the Soviet Union, and his mother comes from Malaysia. The advent of little 'Plata' is the first albino lion birth recorded on the American continent.
The only other recorded cases of albino lions -- and there are very few -- are in Africa and Malaysia. Plata, who weighed about seven pounds (about 3 kilograms) at birth, was so called for a variety of other reasons as well. Apart from being born in La Plata, the word in Spanish means silver -- about as close to an accurate description of its colour as one can get. In addition, the cub's rarity means it's worth a lot of money to its owners -- and 'money' is another Spanish meaning for the word.
Like all albinos, parentage is nothing to do with colour --- which is merely an absence of normal pigment. But nevertheless it's nothing to yawn about in the lion world --- for an albino cub is immediately worth some five thousand (U.S.) dollars. As an adult it can cost twice as much, even though the process of growing up can be a tiring one.
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