Doctors inspect a newborn white lion cub at the Szeged Zoo in Szeged, about 150 km south of Budapest, Hungary, on May 24, 2019. A rare white lion, which was born in the Szeged Zoo in South Hungary in May, made its first public appearance on Friday. The female lion cub has been named Sonja. (Xinhua/Attila Volgyi)

A rare white lion, which was born in the Szeged Zoo in South Hungary in May, made its public debut on Friday.

The female lion cub has been named Sonja.

"The mother, Nadja, has given birth to Sonja on May 15," Robert Veprik, the director of the Zoo told journalists, after a medical examination of the little one.

The mother gave birth without complications, and little Sonja has been born with 1.5 kg, the director explained, adding that Sonja had doubled her weight since then.

For a few weeks, the father Timba is separated from his cub and mate, but soon the whole family will be seen by the grand public in the lion's big court.

In the meantime, those interested can see Sonja in the lion's house, her steps are also followed by a camera, so she can be seen on a monitor and on the zoo's website even when she wonders away from the glass wall.

Although some 300 white lions live today in captivity, but only about a dozen live in the wild. They are not albinos, but have coloration that results from a genetic rarity. 

Timba, father of a newborn white lion cub, is seen at the Szeged Zoo in Szeged, about 150 km south of Budapest, Hungary, on May 24, 2019. A rare white lion, which was born in the Szeged Zoo in South Hungary in May, made its first public appearance on Friday. The female lion cub has been named Sonja. (Xinhua/Attila Volgyi)

Doctors inspect a newborn white lion cub at the Szeged Zoo in Szeged, about 150 km south of Budapest, Hungary, on May 24, 2019. A rare white lion, which was born in the Szeged Zoo in South Hungary in May, made its first public appearance on Friday. The female lion cub has been named Sonja. (Xinhua/Attila Volgyi)

 

Timba, father of a newborn white lion cub, is seen at the Szeged Zoo in Szeged, about 150 km south of Budapest, Hungary, on May 24, 2019. A rare white lion, which was born in the Szeged Zoo in South Hungary in May, made its first public appearance on Friday. The female lion cub has been named Sonja. (Xinhua/Attila Volgyi)