Roitfeld Charms Savage Beast
mardi 15 décembre 2009 
Would you guess that Julia Restoin-Roitfeld once dreamed of becoming a ranger in South Africa and taking tourists on safaris? Well…it’s true! Here Julia cuddles the cutest little white lion cub proving that she can handle big game; the lion is so calm in her arms that he appears stuffed. The white lion is quite rare (only about 30 are known to be alive) and considered divine in Africa, what a perfect pairing. They are not actually albino lions but leucistic, the color results from a recessive gene called chinchilla, a color inhibitor which prevents pigment from being deposited along the shaft of the hair. The color of the lion varies from white to blond, clearly a serious disadvantage in the wild, and sometimes this rare breed even has blue eyes. If you know someone that is passionate about animals, West Midland Safari Park offers the opportunity to give the unique gift of adopting a white lion this holiday season.
Photograph of Julia Restoin-Roitfeld holding white lion cub courtesy of wideningcircle.blogspot.com
Julia Restoin-Roitfeld in Animals 
Reader Comments (6)
Wicked cute! Look at their eye color - almost the same.
Congratulations on your astute observation, Monsieur Michel, a remarkable likeness and an extraordinary color. So cute together.
When was this picture published? Because Vogue Paris ran an editorial in (I think) November 2007 styled by Melanie Huynh featuring Sasha Pivovarova and a white lion cub much like this one, named Sheila (a girl who kept the cub while she was in transit to New York commented on my blog). I wonder if it's the same cub, and if this photograph was taken then? (and oh goodness, it's so cute!!! both in the original editorial and here)
Dru, I am not sure when it originally was published. That would be cool if they used the same white lion cub for both. Isn't it so cute?! I'd love to see that editorial if you still have a copy of it...
I put the pictures up on my blog, here: http://lemontartletsandwinegums.blogspot.com/2007/12/awwww.html (it was the December/Jan 07-08 issue, click to see them full-sized)
I only mentioned it because it was a white lion cub in both the editorial and the above pic, and they're very rare- it would have been so cool if it was the same cub though!
Dru, thank you for the link to the editorial! I remember it now that I see it, Sasha is sooo adorable playing mama to the white lion cub. I can't tell if they are the same, the cub in the editorial looks to have both a darker nose and darker hairs in its ears in some photos, but then lighter in others. It is a really cool connection, I appreciate you pointing it out. Let me know if you'd like to exchange blog links with me.