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All the tigers you see before you are Bengal Tigers. They are all different colors, but the same subspecies of tiger. A tiger is not considered an albino unless they completely lack pigment, including in their eyes. So, the two white tigers in this photo are not albinos. White tigers occur after breeding two Bengal tigers with a recessive gene that controls coat color. It has been said (although not proven) the entire captive white tiger population originated from one single white tiger and has been inbred ever since. In order to retain this recessive gene zoos and breeders must continually breed father to daughter and father to granddaughter and so on. This inbreeding has caused many genetic problems with tigers such as cleft palates, scoliosis of the spine, mental impairments and cross eyes. Many of the cubs that are born either in zoos or by breeders have to be ‘disposed’ of because they are malformed at birth. White Bengal tigers have also been crossed with Siberian tigers to produce a larger specimen which in turn causes even more genetic problems. For years breeders and exhibitors have been using the excuse that white tigers are an endangered species so they need to keep breeding them. This is a false statement. Breeders of white tigers do not contribute to any species survival plan; they are breeding for money. In reality, not only does the breeding of white tigers compound the problem by giving the general public a completely incorrect image of these powerful wild predators, in addition it has caused a giant surplus of regular golden colored tigers in the private sector across the world because most litters still have several orange tigers. Out of a litter of cubs, the breeders will pick the white cubs that bring in a lot more money on the market and euthanize, inhumanely destroy or neglect the cubs that do not meet the color requirement.
Oh, and one last thing- The tiger that's second from the right.. That's a golden tiger, (aka golden tabby tiger or strawberry tiger) another extremely rare color variation caused by a recessive gene that is currently only found in captive tigers. Like the white tiger, it is a color form and not a separate species. In the case of the golden tiger, this is the wide band gene; while the white tiger is due to the color inhibitor (chinchilla) gene. There are currently believed to be fewer than 12 of these rare tigers known in the world, but many more carriers of the gene.
Here's a picture I took of the tigers at the Memphis Zoo. One is the most common black and orange. Another is white. The one on the left is sort of in between. His (or her) stripes are more brown than black and the orange is more muted.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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I agree, white tigers are a rare genetic mutation in the wild. White individuals fare worse. Most who want to breed them in captivity do so for aesthetic purposes.
Awesome post !
The Tiger is the most magnificent beast on the planet, to me !
The scientific term for the 'white tiger' is Leucistic, I think. It is seen in snakes and birds, also. I just saw a luecistic cardinal in South Carolina. As an avid birder, I just about fell over when I saw it!
Oh tk59, please share where in SC, as I am a birder too...
Quote:
Originally Posted by thunderkat59
Awesome post !
The Tiger is the most magnificent beast on the planet, to me !
The scientific term for the 'white tiger' is Leucistic, I think. It is seen in snakes and birds, also. I just saw a luecistic cardinal in South Carolina. As an avid birder, I just about fell over when I saw it!
Oh tk59, please share where in SC, as I am a birder too...
GBH, it was in Mt. Pleasant this past Thanksgiving.
Here are pictures taken from a very old film camera that my Mom had lying around in a drawer that still
holds stuff from the 70's, I think -- Not great, but it's was the first thing we could grab. . . .
He came for a few days at just about 9:30 every day.
.::EDIT::. I sincerely hope this is not considered off-topic by the OP
Last edited by thunderkat59; 12-29-2012 at 06:13 AM..
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-- Not great, but it's was the first thing we could grab. . . . 
