White tigers.

White tigers are individual specimens of the ordinary tiger (Panthera tigris) with a genetic condition that nearly eliminates pigment in the normally orange fur although they still have dark stripes. This occurs when a tiger inherits two copies of the recessive gene for the paler coloration: pink nose, grey-mottled skin, ice-blue eyes, and white to cream-coloured fur with black, grey, or chocolate-coloured stripes. (Another genetic condition also makes the stripes of the tiger very pale; white tigers of this type are called snow-white.) Source:Wikipedia. Photograph: Author’s own.

These white tigers when compared to the orange ones, are much bigger in size, both at birth and at full-grown stage. Experts suggest that the purpose of the gene would be to maintain size of the species, if need be. Those who studied genetics or are fascinated by the subject may be interested in this.

 

\	W	R
W	WW	RW
R	WR	RR

 

Where R is for the orange tiger and W for the whites. The funda is, if the tigers carrying the recessive gene ”W” breed, then there is a 100% chance of a white tiger cub, and if a carrier breeds with an orange tiger, there are chances of passing on this gene or if the orange parent was carrier, it would increase its chance of being a white tiger.

 

Now that the funda is over with, the facts.

 

 

The Baap of all White tigers of Rewa, was Mohan. He was discovered as a cub, in 1951 in Bandhavgarh,(this place has the highest recorded concentration of tigers in India). The Maharaja captured it and happily kept it as an n exotic pet. Mohan was bred to normal tigress and their progeny were all normal. This of course must have been frustrating to the Humans. Therefore, the solution was to inbreed, or in human terms, incest, since all of the progeny would be carriers of the recessive gene. As a result, the first white tiger cubs were born in captivity. And it is these li’l cubs that grew on and reproduced and filled all of the zoos worldwide. That is the story of Mohan. And this clan of them is called as the Rewa strain. There is a similar strain, again from orange father –daughter pair which is called the Orissa strain.

 

The last know wild white tiger was shot dead in 1958 and hence the only way to keep the demand supply chain on was to inbreed. When we say demand supply, it is the perception of white tigers being cute and more lovable than the orange ones. And to cash on this very notion, and get people to pay money to see these little cuddly white tiger cubs, private zoo, exotic animal enclosure etc inbreed their white tigers. It may be fine you think. But what they are trying to do is to alter, severely, the gene pool of the species. It is accepted that marrying with ones own family is not good for the offspring, and these are animals inbred for decades. These eventually leads to a crooked spine, shortened limbs, and crossed eyes, and they may or may not be reproductive.

 

The tiger cubs are incredibly cute!! And anyone would want to play around with them and take a photo and all that, especially if they are the white tigers. So what the cat shelters do is to starve the cubs so the cubs remain light and “pettable”. And then when the cubs get bigger, they may not be able to stand up on their limbs, due to under nourishment. Eventually discarded because they become a liability. As a cub grows older, and attains “discardability”, the need for a new cub arises. This is how the cycle of abuse goes on. And because of the genes associated, not cubs can be expected to be white, cos not all those who breed for genetics are Gregor Mendel.