White tiger

A white tiger is a special kind of tiger.

It has white fur instead of orange. It also has black stripes.

These tigers have blue eyes. They are often bigger than orange tigers. They can grow very fast, too. Every tiger has stripes that are unique. No two tigers have the same pattern. This is just like your own fingerprints.

White tigers are very rare in the wild.

A white tiger is a special kind of Bengal tiger.

They have white fur and blue eyes. Most tigers are orange. White tigers lack a pigment called pheomelanin. This is a substance that makes fur orange or red.

A tiny change in their genes causes this.

These tigers are often bigger than orange tigers. They also grow faster. Every tiger has a unique pattern of stripes. No two tigers have the same stripes. It is just like your own fingerprints.

White tigers are very rare in the wild. This is because they lack camouflage. Camouflage helps animals hide in the grass. Without it, they cannot hunt well. Most white tigers live in zoos. Many are made through inbreeding. This means parents are closely related. Inbreeding can cause health problems. Some tigers may have crossed eyes. This is called strabismus. This happens because of how their brains work.

Some tigers even have almost no stripes at all.

A white tiger is a very special kind of Bengal tiger.

Most tigers have bright orange fur, but these tigers have white or near-white coats. They also have striking blue eyes. While they look different, they still have the black stripes of a normal tiger. These stripes are unique to every single tiger. They work just like human fingerprints because no two patterns are the same.

Even if a tiger were shaved, the stripe pattern would still be visible on its skin.

This unique color happens because of a tiny change in their genes. Most Bengal tigers have a pigment called pheomelanin. This is the substance that makes their fur orange or red. In white tigers, a mutation in a gene called SLC45A2 stops this pigment from showing up. This is a recessive trait. This means a tiger only looks white if both parents carry the special gene.

In the wild, this only happens about once in every 10,000 births. Because they lack orange fur, they lose their camouflage. This makes it harder for them to hide in the grass to hunt.

People have known about white tigers in India since the 16th century. The first white tiger was captured in 1915. A very famous tiger named Mohan was caught in 1951. He was found by King Martand Singh in the forest of Mukundpur.

Many white tigers living in zoos today are descendants of Mohan. A scientist named Kailash Sankhala noted that the last white tiger seen in the wild was shot in 1958. Today, several hundred white tigers live in zoos around the world.

White tigers are often larger than orange tigers. They tend to grow faster and become heavier as they get older. A white Bengal tiger is fully grown by 2 or 3 years of age. Male tigers can grow to be very long and heavy.

Some white tigers can even be almost pure white with very few stripes. These are called "snow-white" tigers. This can happen because of specific genes passed down through families in zoos. Some of these tigers have even been shown in places like Spain and Mexico.

Having this special color can cause some health struggles. Many white tigers in captivity are born from inbreeding. This is when parents are closely related to each other. Inbreeding can cause problems like club feet or crooked spines. Some white tigers also have a condition called strabismus, which means their eyes are crossed.

This happens because the nerves in their brain are routed differently. It can make it hard for them to tell where things are in space. Despite these challenges, their rare beauty continues to fascinate people everywhere.

A white tiger is a leucistic morph of the tiger, most commonly the Bengal tiger subspecies, *Panthera tigris tigris*.

While they appear different from standard tigers, they are not a separate species. They possess the typical black stripes found on all tigers, but their coats are white or near-white. They are also characterized by having blue eyes. These tigers are highly valued in zoos and for exotic animal entertainment due to their rare appearance. However, their unique coloration is the result of a specific genetic mutation rather than a different biological classification.

The white coloration is caused by a lack of pheomelanin. This is the pigment that normally produces red and yellow colors in orange Bengal tigers.

Scientists once thought this was caused by a mutation in the tyrosinase (TYR) gene, which causes albinism. In albinism, a creature lacks both pheomelanin and eumelanin, the pigment for black and brown. However, research showed that white tigers have a normal TYR gene. Instead, a naturally occurring point mutation in the SLC45A2 transport protein gene is responsible. This mutation introduces an alanine residue into the protein's central passageway. This residue appears to block the protein, which prevents the expression of pheomelanin in the fur.

This trait is recessive, meaning it is only visible when an individual is homozygous for the mutation. To produce a white tiger, both parents must carry this unusual gene. In nature, this occurs in only about one in 10,000 births.

Because the trait is recessive, white tigers can be bred from colored Bengal tiger pairs if both parents possess a single copy of the mutation. In captivity, many people use intentional inbreeding to promote these recessive traits. While this produces white tigers, it also leads to various genetic defects. This practice is banned by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for accredited institutions.

White tigers have a distinct history of documentation in India. Records of these animals date back to the 16th century CE. The first white tiger was captured in 1915. A famous white tiger named Mohan was captured in 1951 by the king of Rewa, Martand Singh. Mohan was found in the forest of Mukundpur, which is now part of the Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve.

Many white tigers in modern zoos are direct descendants of Mohan. The naturalist Kailash Sankhala reported that the last white tiger seen in the wild was shot in 1958. Currently, several hundred white tigers live in captivity worldwide, with approximately one hundred located in India.

Physically, white Bengal tigers differ from their orange counterparts in several ways. They tend to grow faster and become heavier than orange tigers. They also tend to be larger at birth and as adults. A white Bengal tiger reaches full maturity at 2 to 3 years of age. Male tigers can reach significant weights and lengths.

Interestingly, a tiger's stripes are like fingerprints. No two tigers share the same pattern because the stripes are a pigmentation of the skin. Even if a tiger were shaved, the pattern would remain visible on the skin.

Some tigers exhibit an even more extreme phenotype known as "snow-white" or "pure white." These individuals have very pale stripes or almost no stripes at all.

This condition can result from an additional genetic condition. The modern strain of these stripeless tigers originated from the repeated mating of Bhim and Susmita at the Cincinnati Zoo. About one-fourth of their offspring were stripeless. This stripeless trait has appeared in zoos in the Czech Republic, Spain, and Mexico. Some magicians also attempted to selectively breed for this specific look.

Being white comes with significant biological challenges. In the wild, the lack of orange fur reduces camouflage, making it harder to stalk prey. White tigers also face several health issues due to inbreeding. One notable condition is strabismus, or crossed eyes.

This is caused by a disruption in the optic chiasm, where the visual pathways in the brain are incorrectly routed. This makes spatial orientation difficult, often causing tigers to bump into objects. Other issues include shortened tendons, club foot, kidney problems, and crooked backbones. Some tigers also show a strange reaction to anesthesia, experiencing a re-sedation effect 24 to 36 hours later.