![Standing white tiger](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Standing_white_tiger.jpg)
The white tiger or bleached tiger is a
leucistic
Leucism () is a wide variety of conditions that result in the partial loss of pigmentation in an animal—causing white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales, or cuticles, but not the eyes. It is occasionally spelled ...
pigmentation variant of the
Mainland tiger. It is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
,
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
,
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
,
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
,
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
, in the
Sunderbans region and especially in the former
State of Rewa.
It has the typical black stripes of a tiger, but carries a white or near-white
coat.
Variation
![MadridZoo-Panthera tigris tigris](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/MadridZoo-Panthera_tigris_tigris.jpg)
The white Bengal tigers are distinctive due to the color of their fur. The white fur caused by a lack of the pigment
pheomelanin
Melanin (; from el, μέλας, melas, black, dark) is a broad term for a group of natural pigments found in most organisms. Eumelanin is produced through a multistage chemical process known as melanogenesis, where the oxidation of the a ...
, which is found in Bengal tigers with orange color fur. When compared to Bengal tigers, the white Bengal tigers tend to grow faster and heavier than the orange Bengal tiger. They also tend to be somewhat bigger at birth, and as fully grown adults. White Bengal tigers are fully grown when they are 2–3 years of age. White male tigers reach weights of and can grow up to in length. As with all tigers, the white Bengal tiger's stripes are like fingerprints, with no two tigers having the same pattern. The stripes of the tiger are a pigmentation of the skin; if an individual were to be shaved, its distinctive coat pattern would still be visible.
For a white Bengal tiger to be born, both parents must carry the unusual gene for white colouring, which only happens naturally about once in 10,000 births.
Dark-striped white individuals are well-documented in the Bengal tiger subspecies (''Panthera tigris'') as well as having been reported historically in several other subspecies.
Currently, several hundred white tigers are in captivity worldwide, with about one hundred being found in India. Their unique white color fur has made them popular in entertainment showcasing exotic animals, and at zoos. Their rarity could be because the recessive allele is the result of a one-time mutation or because white tigers lack adequate camouflage, reducing their ability to stalk prey or avoid other predators. (Downes 2021)
Genetics
A white tiger's pale coloration is due to the lack of the red and yellow pheomelanin pigments that normally produce the orange coloration.
This had long been attributed to a mutation in the gene for the
tyrosinase
Tyrosinase is an oxidase that is the rate-limiting enzyme for controlling the production of melanin. The enzyme is mainly involved in two distinct reactions of melanin synthesis otherwise known as the Raper Mason pathway. Firstly, the hydroxy ...
(TYR) enzyme. A
knockout mutation
A gene knockout (abbreviation: KO) is a genetic technique in which one of an organism's genes is made inoperative ("knocked out" of the organism). However, KO can also refer to the gene that is knocked out or the organism that carries the gene k ...
in this gene results in
albinism
Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino.
Varied use and interpretation of the term ...
, the ability to make neither pheomelanin (red and yellow pigments) nor eumelanin (black and brown pigments), while a less severe mutation in the same gene in other mammals results in selective loss of pheomelanin, the so-called ''Chinchilla'' trait. The white
phenotype
In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological pr ...
in tigers had been attributed to such a ''Chinchilla'' mutation in tyrosinase,
and in the past white tigers were sometimes referred to as 'partial albinos'.
While
whole genome sequencing
Whole genome sequencing (WGS), also known as full genome sequencing, complete genome sequencing, or entire genome sequencing, is the process of determining the entirety, or nearly the entirety, of the DNA sequence of an organism's genome at a ...
determined that such a TYR mutation is responsible for the
white lion
The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest ...
leucistic variant, a normal TYR gene was found in both white tigers and
snow leopard
The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus '' Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is es ...
s.
[Yun Sung Cho et al. (2013). "The tiger genome and comparative analysis with lion and snow leopard genomes", ''Nature Communications'' 4: 2433, ] Instead in white tigers a naturally-occurring
point mutation
A point mutation is a genetic mutation where a single nucleotide base is changed, inserted or deleted from a DNA or RNA sequence of an organism's genome. Point mutations have a variety of effects on the downstream protein product—consequence ...
in the
SLC45A2 transport protein
A transport protein (variously referred to as a transmembrane pump, transporter, escort protein, acid transport protein, cation transport protein, or anion transport protein) is a protein that serves the function of moving other materials within ...
gene was found to underlie its pigmentation. The resultant single amino acid substitution introduces an
alanine
Alanine (symbol Ala or A), or α-alanine, is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an amine group and a carboxylic acid group, both attached to the central carbon atom which also carries a methyl group side ...
residue that protrudes into the transport protein's central passageway, apparently blocking it, and by a mechanism yet to be determined this prevents pheomelanin expression in the fur.
Mutations in the same gene are known to result in 'cream' coloration in horses,
and play a role in the paler skin of humans of European descent.
This is a
recessive trait
In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the effect of a different variant of the same gene on the other copy of the chromosome. The first variant is termed dominant and t ...
, meaning that it is only seen in individuals that are
homozygous
Zygosity (the noun, zygote, is from the Greek "yoked," from "yoke") () is the degree to which both copies of a chromosome or gene have the same genetic sequence. In other words, it is the degree of similarity of the alleles in an organism.
Mo ...
for this mutation,
and that while the progeny of white tigers will all be white, white tigers can be also bred from colored Bengal tiger pairs in which each possesses a single copy of the unique mutation.
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...
promotes recessive traits and has been used as a strategy to produce white tigers in captivity, but this has also resulted in a range of other genetic defects.
The stripe color varies due to the influence and interaction of other genes. Another
genetic characteristic makes the stripes of the tiger very pale; white tigers of this type are called ''snow-white'' or "pure white". White tigers,
Siamese cats
The Siamese cat ( th, แมวไทย, Maeo Thai; แมวสยาม, Maeo Seeaam) is one of the first distinctly recognized breeds of Asian cat. Derived from the Wichianmat landrace, one of several varieties of cat native to Thailand ( ...
, and
Himalayan rabbits have
enzyme
Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products ...
s in their fur which react to temperature, causing them to grow darker in the cold. A white tiger named Mohini was whiter than her relatives in the Bristol Zoo, who showed more cream tones. This may have been because she spent less time outdoors in the winter.
Kailash Sankhala observed that white tigers were always whiter in
Rewa State
Rewa State, also known as Rewah, was a Rajput princely state of India, surrounding its eponymous capital, the town of Rewa.
With an area of about , Rewa was the largest princely state in the Bagelkhand Agency and the second largest in Centra ...
, even when they were born in New Delhi and returned there. "In spite of living in a dusty courtyard, they were always snow white."
A weakened
immune system
The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splint ...
is directly linked to reduced pigmentation in white tigers.
Stripeless tigers
![Whitetigermirage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Whitetigermirage.jpg)
An additional genetic condition can result in near-complete absence of stripes, making the tiger almost pure white. One such specimen was exhibited at
Exeter Change in England in 1820, and described by
Georges Cuvier as "A white variety of Tiger is sometimes seen, with the stripes very opaque, and not to be observed except in certain angles of light."
Naturalist
Richard Lydekker
Richard Lydekker (; 25 July 1849 – 16 April 1915) was an English naturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books on natural history.
Biography
Richard Lydekker was born at Tavistock Square in London. His father was Gerard Wolfe Lydekker, ...
said that, "a white tiger, in which the fur was of a creamy tint, with the usual stripes faintly visible in certain parts, was exhibited at the old menagerie at Exeter Change about the year 1820."
Hamilton Smith said, "A wholly white tiger, with the stripe-pattern visible only under reflected light, like the pattern of a white tabby cat, was exhibited in the Exeter Change Menagerie in 1820.", and
John George Wood
John George Wood, or Rev J. G. Wood, (21 July 1827 – 3 March 1889), was an English writer who popularised natural history with his writings.
Life and work
Early life and ordination
John George Wood was born in London, son of the surgeon J ...
stated that, "a creamy white, with the ordinary tigerine stripes so faintly marked that they were only visible in certain lights."
Edwin Henry Landseer
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. However, his best-known works are the lion sculptures at the bas ...
also drew this tigress in 1824.
The modern strain of snow white tigers came from repeated brother–sister matings of Bhim and Sumita at
Cincinnati Zoo. The gene involved may have come from a
Siberian tiger
The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies '' Panthera tigris tigris'' native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korean Peninsula, but currently inh ...
, their part-Siberian ancestor Tony. Continued inbreeding appears to have caused a recessive gene to become homozygous and produce the stripeless phenotype. About one fourth of Bhim and Sumita's offspring were stripeless. Their striped white offspring, which have been sold to zoos around the world, may also carry the gene for the stripeless trait. Because Tony's genome is present in many white tiger pedigrees, the gene may also be present in other captive white tigers. As a result, stripeless white tigers have appeared in zoos as far afield as the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
(
Liberec), Spain and Mexico. Stage magicians
Siegfried & Roy
Siegfried & Roy were a duo of German-American magicians and entertainers, best known for their appearances with white lions and white tigers. It was composed of Siegfried Fischbacher (June 13, 1939 – January 13, 2021) and Roy Horn (born Uwe ...
were the first to attempt to selectively breed for stripeless tigers; they owned snow-white Bengal tigers taken from
Cincinnati Zoo (Tsumura, Mantra, Mirage and Akbar-Kabul) and
Guadalajara, Mexico (Vishnu and Jahan), as well as a stripeless Siberian tiger called Apollo.
In 2004, a blue-eyed, stripeless white tiger was born in a wildlife refuge in
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
, Spain. Its parents are normal orange Bengals. The cub was named "Artico" ("Arctic").
Defects
Outside of India, inbred white tigers have been prone to crossed eyes, a condition known as
strabismus
Strabismus is a vision disorder in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is focused on an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a ...
,
due to incorrectly routed
visual pathways in the brains of white tigers. When stressed or confused, all white tigers cross their eyes. Strabismus is associated with white tigers of mixed Bengal x Siberian ancestry. The only pure-Bengal white tiger reported to be cross-eyed was Mohini's daughter Rewati. Strabismus is directly linked to the white gene and is not a separate consequence of inbreeding.
![White Tiger Deformed](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/White_Tiger_Deformed.jpg)
The orange litter-mates of white tigers are not prone to strabismus. Siamese cats and
albino
Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino.
Varied use and interpretation of the term ...
s of every species which have been studied all exhibit the same visual pathway abnormality found in white tigers. Siamese cats are also sometimes cross-eyed, as are some albino
ferrets. The visual pathway abnormality was first documented in white tigers in the brain of a white tiger called Moni after he died, although his eyes were of normal alignment. The abnormality is that there is a disruption in the
optic chiasm
In neuroanatomy, the optic chiasm, or optic chiasma (; , ), is the part of the brain where the optic nerves cross. It is located at the bottom of the brain immediately inferior to the hypothalamus. The optic chiasm is found in all vertebrat ...
. The examination of Moni's brain suggested the disruption is less severe in white tigers than it is in Siamese cats. Because of the visual pathway abnormality, by which some
optic nerve
In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve is derived fro ...
s are routed to the wrong side of the brain, white tigers have a problem with spatial orientation, and bump into things until they learn to compensate. Some tigers compensate by crossing their eyes. When the neurons pass from the retina to the brain and reach the optic chiasma, some cross and some do not, so that visual images are projected to the wrong hemisphere of the brain. White tigers cannot see as well as normal tigers and suffer from
photophobia
Photophobia is a medical symptom of abnormal intolerance to visual perception of light. As a medical symptom photophobia is not a morbid fear or phobia, but an experience of discomfort or pain to the eyes due to light exposure or by presence of ...
, like albinos.
[Gorham, Mary Ellen, DVM. ''Genetic defects do little to mar beauty of India's rare white tigers''. March 1986]
Other genetic problems include shortened tendons of the forelegs,
club foot
Clubfoot is a birth defect where one or both feet are rotated inward and downward. Congenital clubfoot is the most common congenital malformation of the foot with an incidence of 1 per 1000 births. In approximately 50% of cases, clubfoot aff ...
, kidney problems, arched or crooked backbone and twisted neck. Reduced fertility and miscarriages, noted by "tiger man" Kailash Sankhala in pure-Bengal white tigers, were attributed to
inbreeding depression
Inbreeding depression is the reduced biological fitness which has the potential to result from inbreeding (the breeding of related individuals). Biological fitness refers to an organism's ability to survive and perpetuate its genetic material. ...
.
A condition known as "star-gazing" (the head and neck are raised almost straight up, as if the affected animal is gazing at the stars), which is associated with inbreeding in big cats, has also been reported in white tigers.
There was a male cross-eyed white tiger at the
Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
, which was donated to the zoo by
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
magician Dirk Arthur. There is a picture of a white tiger which appears to be cross-eyed on just one side in the book ''Siegfried and Roy: Mastering the Impossible''. A white tiger, named Scarlett O'Hara, who was Tony's sister, was cross-eyed only on the right side.
A male tiger named 'Cheytan', a son of Bhim and Sumita who was born at the Cincinnati Zoo, died at the San Antonio Zoo in 1992, from anaesthesia complications during
root canal therapy. It appears that white tigers also react strangely to anaesthesia. The best drug for immobilizing a tiger is CI 744, but a few tigers, white ones in particular, undergo a re-sedation effect 24–36 hours later. This is due to their inability to produce normal tyrosinase, a trait they share with albinos, according to zoo
veterinarian
A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...
David Taylor. He treated a pair of white tigers from the Cincinnati Zoo at Fritz Wurm's safari park in Stukenbrock, Germany, for
salmonella poisoning, which reacted strangely to the anaesthesia.
Mohini was checked for
Chédiak–Higashi syndrome
Chédiak–Higashi syndrome (CHS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder that arises from a mutation of a lysosomal trafficking regulator protein, which leads to a decrease in phagocytosis. The decrease in phagocytosis results in recurrent pyogeni ...
in 1960, but the results were inconclusive.
[Maruska, Edward J. (1987) "White Tiger Phantom Or Freak?", Chapter 33, Part IV White Tiger Politics, in Ronald Lewis Tilson, Ulysses S. Seal (eds.) ''Tigers Of The World, Biopolitics, Management, and Conservation of an Endangered Species'', Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, New Jersey, USA, .] This condition is similar to albino mutations and causes bluish lightening of the fur color, crossed eyes, and prolonged bleeding after surgery. Also, in the event of an injury, the blood is slow to coagulate. This condition has been observed in domestic cats, but there has never been a case of a white tiger having Chédiak–Higashi syndrome. There has been a single case of a white tiger having central
retinal degeneration, reported from the Milwaukee County Zoo, which could be related to reduced pigmentation in the eye.
The white tiger in question was a male named Mota on loan from the Cincinnati Zoo.
There is a myth that white tigers have an 80% infant mortality rate. However, the infant mortality rate for white tigers is no higher than it is for normal orange tigers bred in captivity. Cincinnati Zoo director Ed Maruska said:
"We have not experienced premature death among our white tigers. Forty-two animals born in our collection are still alive. Mohan, a large white tiger, died just short of his 20th birthday, an enviable age for a male of any subspecies, since most males live shorter captive lives. Premature deaths in other collections may be artifacts of captive environmental conditions...in 52 births we had four stillbirths, one of which was an unexplained loss. We lost two additional cubs from viral pneumonia, which is not excessive. Without data from non-inbred tiger lines, it is difficult to determine whether this number is high or low with any degree of accuracy."
Ed Maruska also addressed the issue of deformities:
"Other than a case of hip dysplasia that occurred in a male white tiger, we have not encountered any other body deformities or any physiological or neurological disorders. Some of these reported maladies in mutant tigers in other collections may be a direct result of inbreeding or improper rearing management of tigers generally."
Inbreeding and outcrossing
![Siberian Tiger, Yerevan Zoo (2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Siberian_Tiger%2C_Yerevan_Zoo_%282%29.jpg)
Because of the extreme rarity of the white tiger allele in the wild,
the breeding pool was limited to the small number of white tigers in captivity. According to Kailash Sankhala, the last white tiger ever seen in the wild was shot in 1958.
Today there is a large number of white tigers in captivity. A white Amur tiger may have been born at Center Hill and has given rise to a strain of white Amur tigers. A man named Robert Baudy realized that his tigers had white genes when a tiger he sold to
Marwell Zoo
Marwell Zoo is a zoo situated in Colden Common near Winchester, in the English county of Hampshire. It is owned and run by the registered charity Marwell Wildlife. The zoo is home to 1,208 animals of 149 species. The charity undertakes a ran ...
in England developed white spots, and bred them accordingly. The Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa Bay had four of these white Amur tigers, descended from Robert Baudy's stock.
It has also been possible to expand the white-gene pool by
outcrossing
Out-crossing or out-breeding is the technique of crossing between different breeds. This is the practice of introducing distantly related genetic material into a breeding line, thereby increasing genetic diversity.
Outcrossing can be a usefu ...
white tigers with unrelated orange tigers and then using the cubs to produce more white tigers. The white tigers Ranjit, Bharat, Priya and Bhim were all outcrossed, in some instances to more than one tiger. Bharat was bred to an unrelated orange tiger named Jack from the
San Francisco Zoo and had an orange daughter named Kanchana. Bharat and Priya were also bred with an unrelated orange tiger from
Knoxville Zoo
Zoo Knoxville, formerly known as the ''Knoxville Zoo'' or ''Knoxville Zoological Gardens'', is a zoo located just east of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, near exit 392 off Interstate 40. The zoo is home to about 1,200 animals and w ...
, and Ranjit was bred to this tiger's sister, also from Knoxville Zoo. Bhim fathered several litters with an unrelated orange tigress named Kimanthi at the Cincinnati Zoo. ankam Ranjeeth had several mates at the Omaha Zoo.
The last descendants of
Bristol Zoo
Bristol Zoo was a zoo in the city of Bristol in South West England. The zoo's stated mission was to "maintain and defend” biodiversity through breeding endangered species, conserving threatened species and habitats and promoting a wider unders ...
's white tigers were a group of orange tigers from outcrosses which were bought by a Pakistani senator and shipped to Pakistan. Rajiv, Pretoria Zoo's white tiger, who was born in the Cincinnati Zoo, was also outcrossed and sired at least two litters of orange cubs at Pretoria Zoo. Outcrossing is not necessarily done with the intent of producing more white cubs by resuming inbreeding further down the line. Outcrossing is a way of bringing fresh blood into the white strain. The New Delhi Zoo loaned out white tigers to some of India's better zoos for outcrossing, and the government had to impose a
whip to force zoos to return either the white tigers or their orange offspring.
![WhiteTiger25](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/WhiteTiger25.jpg)
Siegfried & Roy performed at least one outcross.
In the mid-1980s they offered to work with the Indian government in the creation of a healthier strain of white tigers. The Indian government reportedly considered the offer;
however, India had a
moratorium on breeding white tigers after cubs were born at New Delhi Zoo with arched backs and clubbed feet, necessitating
euthanasia.
Siegfried & Roy
Siegfried & Roy were a duo of German-American magicians and entertainers, best known for their appearances with white lions and white tigers. It was composed of Siegfried Fischbacher (June 13, 1939 – January 13, 2021) and Roy Horn (born Uwe ...
have bred white tigers in collaboration with the
Nashville Zoo.
To better preserve genetic diversity and avoid genetic defects, the
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), originally the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, is an American 501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in ...
barred member zoos from intentionally breeding to produce white tigers,
white lion
The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest ...
s, or
king cheetahs in a white paper adopted by the board of directors in July 2011. The paper explains that selecting for or against any particular allele would result in a loss of genetic diversity. Instead, the alleles should be maintained at their natural frequencies. Inbreeding to produce abnormal appearances can also produce congenital defects that impact health and welfare. Sometimes the traits themselves can cause problems, such as albinism's visual and neural effects. Additionally, animals with an abnormal appearance do not serve as well as ambassadors for their species in the zoos' mission to educate the public.
See also
*
Black tiger
A black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger, and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies.
Description
There are reports and one painting (now lost) of pure black non-striped tigers (true melanistic tigers). Most black mammal ...
*
Captive white tigers
Captive white tigers are of little known lineage. They are held captive around the world, usually for financial purposes.
Mohan and the Rewa strain
Mohan was the founding father of the white tigers of Rewa. He was captured as a cub in 1951 by ...
*
Cat coat genetics
Cat coat genetics determine the coloration, pattern, length, and texture of feline fur. Understanding how can be challenging because many genes are involved. The variations among cat coats are physical properties and should not be confused with c ...
*
Conservation genetics
Conservation genetics is an interdisciplinary subfield of population genetics that aims to understand the dynamics of genes in populations principally to avoid extinction. Therefore, it applies genetic methods to the conservation and restoration ...
*
Golden tiger
A golden tiger, sometimes called a golden tabby tiger, is a tiger with a colour variation caused by a recessive gene. Like white tigers and black tigers
The Black Tigers () was an elite suicide commando unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tam ...
*
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...
*
Inbreeding depression
Inbreeding depression is the reduced biological fitness which has the potential to result from inbreeding (the breeding of related individuals). Biological fitness refers to an organism's ability to survive and perpetuate its genetic material. ...
*
Mukundpur
*
White panther
*
White Tiger (mythology)
References
External links
Tigerlink.orgWhite tigersIndian Tigers Welfare Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:White Tiger
Tiger color morphs
Rewa, Madhya Pradesh
Articles containing video clips
Fauna of Madhya Pradesh
Inbred animals