A lion named Max is pictured on Wednesday July 11, 2018 at Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary in Tyler. (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

There’s a new queen of the jungle at Tiger Creek.

The animal sanctuary welcomed its newest big cat, Luna, a 7-week old rare white African lioness. Weighing in at just 12 pounds, Luna has a lot of growing to do.

The sanctuary’s director Emily Owen said although some believe white lions are albinos, they actually are a separate species. They are now endangered due to over hunting. Very few are left in the wild due to poachers and “canned hunting facilities” where people pay to hunt the lions.

“Fortunately for Luna, someone was able to prevent that from happening to her so she can live out the rest of her life at Tiger Creek,” Owen said. “Our mission is to rescue and try to rehabilitate cats that have been abused or neglected.”

Luna debuted on Wednesday with two short play times, but she spends most of her day sleeping. She is 12 pounds of rambunctiousness and is growing every day.

For her playtime, Luna runs around the enclosure exploring and making adorable little roars.

“Taking care of a baby lion is the best job in the world, but it’s also a lot of work,” Owen said.

Luna is one of less than 500 white lions left in the world. Only about a dozen are left in the wild, Owen said. Luckily for Luna, she was rescued and found her way to Tiger Creek where she can grow into a happy, healthy adult.

Right now the park has to bottle feed Luna every two to three hours. At six months, they will move her into a habitat all her own.

After that she’ll be paired up with Max, one of the resident lions.

“Lions do live in prides in the wild, so we do want to be able to duplicate that at Tiger Creek, but we also want to make sure she’s the proper size to handle Max,” Owen said.

The 173-acre sanctuary is home to a wide variety of animals.

“Tiger Creek is home to 37 big cats and a hodgepodge of other little critters,” Owen said. “All in all, there’s about 102 animals here.”

The first face to greet visitors after entering the park is a friendly tuxedo cat that lounges about in the gift shop. The sanctuary recently acquired five lemurs as well.

The sanctuary also has started working with local geneticists to map the entire genome of tigers.

Guests can see Luna twice a day at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

For more information, visit TigerCreek.org.

WHAT: See Luna the white lion cub

WHEN: 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. daily

WHERE: Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary, 17552 FM 14, Tyler

INFO: TigerCreek.org