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There has been a strange miracle at the Drakenstein Lion Park in South Africa. Brutus, the white lion, had a vasectomy to sterilise him three years ago. Yet he is now the proud father of three "white Christmas miracle" cubs. His mate, Nala, gave birth to them, according to MSN.

Nala and the three cubs born just before Christmas are reportedly doing well.

It has shocked the keepers of the non-breeding park, emphasising that the couple has been together for three years since he was sterilised, and there was neither an incident nor any reason to believe that he could get cubs.

Drakenstein Lion Park is a "nonprofit sanctuary for abused and rescued lions".

"We are a non-breeding sanctuary and Brutus - before he became sexually mature - had a vasectomy which we assumed worked because for the last three years there has been no offspring," said the park's owner Paul Hart. "So we were taken completely by surprise by the cubs."

Now another surgery will sterilize him again, in order to prevent its recurrence. "Hopefully, this time round, we'll fix the problem," joked Hart. Brutus is scheduled for a vet visit to undergo another vasectomy.

The local media are calling it a "Christmas Miracle" and "White Christmas" as they are rare, white lions. However, these lions are just an extraordinary genetic mutation, and are not albinos, said Drakenstein's website.

White lions are extinct species in the wild. They are used by the "captive breeding industry" so that they can be inbred and their cubs can be used in "canned hunts".