November 25th, 2009
articuno: willowing: While the white or golden tabby coloration of these animals may be pretty, what the zoos won’t tell you is that, in reality, it’s a deadly genetic mutation. They are not a subspecies, and are not albino.The white gene is a double-recessive one caused mostly by inbreeding (in a natural mating, there is only a one in 10,000 chance that a tiger will be white), which is why they say that it exists ‘only in captivity’. Zoos are not willing to wait for this one in 10,000 miracle tiger, and so find that the only other way to produce them is through inbreeding. Even though it does happen naturally in the wild that tigers can be born white, there are many reports of wild tiger mothers attempting to smother their white cubs to death, because the coloration also makes the tigers more visible to prey. In a natural setting, white tigers and golden tabby tigers would starve to death, or die of other complications. This maternal behavior is noted even today in zoos, and often, white tigers must be taken from their mothers immediately after birth. The Singapore Zoo reported that one of their mother tigers refused to nurse her white cubs, so handlers had to raise the infant tiger themselves. Also, all white tigers are cross-eyed, even if it is not readily apparent. This is because the gene which makes them white also messes up the way their eyes are wired to their brains. Other deformities include serious dental problems and deformed bone structure. Mental issues are probably the most common result (I watched at a roadside zoo here in Oregon as a white tiger licked a concrete wall until its tongue bled). Gnawing on fences or enclosure walls, pacing and constant salivation are other sure signs that the cat you are looking at suffers from the affects of its unfortunate ancestry. Over all, it’s a sad issue which is not being noted by the public enough to end it. Most zoos and safari parks won’t even tell you about the inbreeding issue, or will claim that their white tigers were a ‘natural’ occurrence. But there have been no ‘natural’ white tiger births since 1951. http://www.bigcatrescue.org/cats/wild/white_tigers.htm This article makes me so sad because White Tigers are my favorite land animal and I had no idea about any of this… :[ 

articuno:

willowing:

While the white or golden tabby coloration of these animals may be pretty, what the zoos won’t tell you is that, in reality, it’s a deadly genetic mutation. They are not a subspecies, and are not albino.

The white gene is a double-recessive one caused mostly by inbreeding (in a natural mating, there is only a one in 10,000 chance that a tiger will be white), which is why they say that it exists ‘only in captivity’. Zoos are not willing to wait for this one in 10,000 miracle tiger, and so find that the only other way to produce them is through inbreeding.

Even though it does happen naturally in the wild that tigers can be born white, there are many reports of wild tiger mothers attempting to smother their white cubs to death, because the coloration also makes the tigers more visible to prey. In a natural setting, white tigers and golden tabby tigers would starve to death, or die of other complications. This maternal behavior is noted even today in zoos, and often, white tigers must be taken from their mothers immediately after birth. The Singapore Zoo reported that one of their mother tigers refused to nurse her white cubs, so handlers had to raise the infant tiger themselves.

Also, all white tigers are cross-eyed, even if it is not readily apparent. This is because the gene which makes them white also messes up the way their eyes are wired to their brains. Other deformities include serious dental problems and deformed bone structure. Mental issues are probably the most common result (I watched at a roadside zoo here in Oregon as a white tiger licked a concrete wall until its tongue bled). Gnawing on fences or enclosure walls, pacing and constant salivation are other sure signs that the cat you are looking at suffers from the affects of its unfortunate ancestry.

Over all, it’s a sad issue which is not being noted by the public enough to end it. Most zoos and safari parks won’t even tell you about the inbreeding issue, or will claim that their white tigers were a ‘natural’ occurrence. But there have been no ‘natural’ white tiger births since 1951.

http://www.bigcatrescue.org/cats/wild/white_tigers.htm

This article makes me so sad because White Tigers are my favorite land animal and I had no idea about any of this… :[