White Tigers (25 Photos)

The white tiger is a recessive mutant of the Bengal tiger, occasionally found in the wild across Assam, Bengal, Bihar, and historically in the former state of Rewa. Compared to orange tigers lacking the white gene, white tigers are typically larger both at birth and in adulthood. Here is a stunning collection of photos featuring these magnificent creatures.







Kailash Sankhala, director of the New Delhi Zoo in the 1960s, suggested that "one function of the white gene might have been to keep a size gene active in the population, should it ever be needed."





Individuals with distinctive dark stripes have also been recorded in the Bengal tiger subspecies. A similar phenomenon can be observed in Siberian tigers, and historically, similar variants have appeared in other species as well.



Today, several hundred white tigers live in zoos around the world, with roughly a hundred of them in India.



Nevertheless, their numbers continue to grow.



The current white tiger population consists of purebred Bengals and Bengal-Siberian hybrids. However, it remains unclear whether the recessive white gene originated solely from Bengal tigers or if Siberian ancestors also contributed to it.



A white tiger is born when a recessive allele is expressed in a homozygous condition within the genome.



It is estimated that in the wild, roughly one in every 15,000 Bengal tigers is born white.



The existence of white Siberian tigers has never been scientifically documented, despite sporadic, unconfirmed sightings in regions inhabited by the species.



It is possible that the white mutation does not naturally occur in wild Siberian tiger populations. No white Siberian tiger has ever been born in captivity, despite extensive breeding programs aimed at preserving the species through outcrossing across different lineages.



While crossbreeding could theoretically bring a recessive allele into a homozygous state—allowing standard orange parents to produce a white cub—there is currently no evidence of this happening.



The known white Siberian tigers in captivity are not purebred.



Instead, they are the result of crossbreeding Siberian tigers with Bengals.



Although the gene for white fur is relatively common among Bengal tigers, the natural birth of a white Bengal tiger in captivity remains a rare event.



The white tiger is not a separate subspecies, but rather a genetic mutation occurring within existing subspecies.



If a purebred white Siberian tiger were ever born, it would not be selectively bred as part of official species conservation programs.



However, it would likely still be selectively bred to produce more white Siberian tigers.



Thanks to their immense popularity, white tigers are always the star attractions in zoos.