Most Expensive Pet (Exotic)
Written by: jeremy Filed Under: Luxury, World on August 23rd, 2007The reasons for owning exotic pets are as varied as the species of the pets themselves. One may buy a pet for the aesthetic qualities of its coat, the impression that owning such a rare and/or expensive animal makes on others or even for the unique offspring that may result from its union with another rare breed. Animal lovers may procure rare snakes, birds or even primates in pursuit of their interests. The most expensive pet in the world, however, is a cat.
It’s no house cat, though. The white lion cub fetches a price of around $138,000 and hails from South Africa, where it was seen as a divine creature by some locals. Its rarity can be attributed to the fact that the white lion is not a subspecies of lion but, rather, the result of a recessive gene. Furthermore, the white lion’s coat lends itself less to hunting and more to being hunted.
White Lion Cubs
Instead, the world’s most expensive pet is often selectively bred with other white lions in captivity. While this is by no means a sure way to produce another white lion, it has resulted in some 300 of the rare animals being accounted for as of 2004.
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what a cute little thing
i love the white lion it is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
i luv them
i want one! its sooo cute!……hmmm i am lookin to get a new pet…..but no one tht costs more than a car! …….but i still want one! <333333
:0 :0 :0 so cute i want on but look at the damn price no way i will ever afford a pet like that!
but there so damn cute!
I know you guys will think i’m lying but my aunt has one of those. We named it diamond. i play with it everyday. they are really friendly. and very active.
Breeding these lions, much like breeding white tigers, is cruel! They mate them with their own siblings because that increases the chances of the offspring having white fur (recessive + recessive), which often results in deformed, mutated cats. Whoever thought to put such a big pricetag on inbreeding is SICK!
Awwww!!!
Recessive genes aren’t a result of inbreeding. I don’t agree with them trying to breed others to get new ones. What it means by “lethal” gene is exactly that, eventually it will cause some kind of deterioration in the animal leading to its death. Also, if they breed with another animal with the same recessive lethal gene they can cause deaths in their offspring before they even reach adulthood if they possess both recessive genes which often happens. That is why it is bad for them to breed two white lions or white anything that shouldn’t be. PLEASE DO YOU RESEARCH BEFORE BUYING ANY EXOTIC PET! Just cause they are cute doesn’t mean they are a pet for you. Diamond may be the one exception to a friendly large cat, other people aren’t as lucky.
Wild animals, especially of such a large size are not meant to be pets. There is a large carnivore sanctuary near me that has over 2 dozen big cats, wolves and bears that some moron thought would make an “awesome pet”. This happens ALL THE TIME. You may think you want a tiger. Its cute as a baby and beautiful as an adult. But when it weighs over 500 pounds and eats hundreds of pounds of meat only every week and you can’t handle, then what. You have to get rid of it. These animals are wild, they are natural killers. They will love you one minute and think nothing of mauling you the next. Don’t be stupid, they are not pets. Yes they are gorgeous. Yes they are adorable. But they belong in the wild, in a zoo, or in a sanctuary. Appreciate them from afar, and if you want to help them, donate your time or money to a sanctuary or habitat.
What do people think wen the lion cub grows up & gets bigger? They belong in the wild! (but they are cute!)
WOW nice pets.. Billionares have it lucky they can buy like 30 of them.. haha im savin up 4 sure
“Wild animals, especially of such a large size are not meant to be pets.”
Like some animals are born naturally to be pets? I’m sure at one point in time someone said “That wolf/african wildcat/parrot/finch/snake/bovine/boar/etc. isn’t meant to be a pet!” Even dogs and cats have their wild instincts. Cats can become feral quickly if not raised around people and feral dogs form packs like wolves. I’m sure if house cats were as big as lions, they’d be “dangerous wild animals” too, and if lions were smaller, they’d be seen as okay pets.
I know a big cat isn’t for everyone, but if someone has the space, time and money to keep a lion, why not let them? Thousands of people do not take proper care of their dogs and cats, yet you don’t see anyone besides Animal Rights organizations like PETA rallying to ban them.
I don’t see the problem with keeping a lion if you’re wealthy and have the means to.
its a weird animal
Their soooooooo cute, but the price is horriby BIG.
How ever, ill save money an buy oun, an if I can’t save money,
thirs alwais…..??
And refering to the comment by RAWR, you can have a pet as big as wale, as long as you giv it repect and lots of love and room to liv in.
P.S. Dont forget to feed the animal if is that BIG
I love white lions so so much. They are beautiful animals, but we have to remember they are WILD animals, and thats were they belong really. They would be nice to see everyday and say you have one but I think thats its unfair to let a grown lion live at your house. It will need a lot of room and a lot of food, and you will have to put up with things being bitten a lot , just make sure you give it plenty of love, loads of space and remember, its a WILD animal so you will need to try understand it. Hanner xx
They r SO cute!
it so cute i will love i would forever if i ever could get 1 (well in tell it grew big teth and mauled me
Ugh the thought of these animals as pets is sick. I’ve watched on animal planet about animals being rescued and such, and I watched a few episodes where they had to rescue a wild big cat or other wild animal of some sort. Yes cute, yes beautiful, but pet worthy? NO they belong in the WILD or in a zoo. It’s so sick to see an animal that was born for freedom be taken into someones home as a ‘pet’.
Nah, what a joke.i only love dogs
I almost feel sorry for those people (above) who are saying that they would like to own one as they are “cute”
It is people like you who buy pets on a whim, without any forethought as to the long term consequences. Cretins.