Two rare white lion cubs newly on display at Mexican zoo

The cubs' mum rejected them so they were bottle fed formula for their first few months

A pair of four-month-old white lion cubs play in their enclosure at the Altiplano Zoo in Tlaxcala, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018. The zoo is holding a naming contest for them and the zoo's director Cesar Toriz hopes that in a few years they can find them mates. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A pair of four-month-old white lion cubs lick the leg of a camera tripod during a visit by Associated Press journalists, inside their enclosure at the Altiplano Zoo in Tlaxcala, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018. The Zoo, about two hours east of Mexico City, has welcomed the two white lion cubs born in March and recently presented to the public.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A pair of four-month-old white lion cubs play together in their enclosure at the Altiplano Zoo in Tlaxcala, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018. The Zoo, about two hours east of Mexico City, has welcomed the two white lion cubs born in March and recently presented to the public.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A girl locks eyes with one of a pair of four-month-old white lion cubs, through a fenced entrance gate to the cubs' enclosure at the Altiplano Zoo in Tlaxcala, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018. White lions are a rarity unique to an endemic region in South Africa. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

One of a pair of four-month-old white lion cubs bites the pants of veterinarian Rodrigo Gutierrez Zecua as the cubs play inside their enclosure at the Altiplano Zoo in Tlaxcala, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018. White lions are a rarity unique to an endemic region in South Africa. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

One of a pair of four-month-old white lion cubs snarls as they play together in their enclosure at the Altiplano Zoo in Tlaxcala, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018. Cesar Toriz, the zoo's director, says the cubs' mother rejected them so they had to be bottle fed formula for their first couple months. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

One of a pair of four-month-old white lion cubs rests inside the cubs' enclosure at the Altiplano Zoo in Tlaxcala, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018. The zoo's director Cesar Toriz says the cubs are gaining weight, now about 44 pounds and 23 inches long and eat chicken and milk. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A zoo in central Mexico is growing its population of rare white lions with hopes of eventually establishing a sanctuary featuring the animals.

The Altiplano Zoo in Tlaxcala, about two hours east of Mexico City, recently began publicly showing two white lion cubs that were born in March.

Just about a dozen white lions remain in the wild, according to the Global While LionProtection Trust, based in South Africa, though several hundred are held in zoos around the world, including several in Mexico. They are not albinos, but have coloration that results from a genetic rarity.

The Tlaxcala Zoo, run by the state government, has five other white lions, including three adults and a cub born last year.

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Cesar Toriz, the zoo's director, says the cubs' mother rejected them so they had to be bottle fed formula for their first few months. They were the second litter of white lions for Miztli and Thonatiu, the parents, who are white lions themselves.

Mr Toriz says the cubs are gaining weight- now about 44 pounds and 23 inches long- and eat chicken and milk.

The zoo is holding a naming contest for them and Mr Toriz hopes that in a few years they can find them mates.