I Hate My Life – White Tigers Are NOT Natural
As we are doing our research for this website, we have come to realize the sad fact that even the kings of the animal world can be subject to animal abuse.
Playing With Mother Nature
These images really need no more words, they speak volumes. However the artist who drew the image below really knows her stuff and goes on to give an in-depth explanation about why white tigers are really sad business.
“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.”
Wrong On So Many Levels
This is just an excerpt from the page, she goes into very specific detail about the problems associated with this type of breeding and it’s effects on conservation efforts for tiger species. (White tigers aren’t protected because their bloodlines are such a mishmash of species and genetics).
In fact, their breeding is discouraged and only done by zoos and circuses looking to attract more visitors.
Do it For The Tigers
We certainly hope that the drawing and image above is reason enough to make you avoid zoos that continue unhealthy breeding practices. Inbred animals live a sad life of confusion and pain.
In short, their whole life is abuse.
Boycott zoos with white tigers. In fact, we are well on the way to telling you to boycott zoos altogether.
*Update – this video is worth a watch
I think zoo’s are a double edged sword. On one hand, I hate to see these animals in captivity. Many of which live in cramped spaces in horrible conditions, because the zoo’s they are kept in don’t have the proper funds to house them correctly.
On the other side, it is one of the few ways to promote conservation and interest in helping keep these animals alive in the wild. Promoting the fact we need to help them and not kill them, poach them and stop encroaching on their habitat.
So the incredibly destructive practices that have ruined the health of so many breeds of dogs happen on the zoo level as well? Ay carumba….
Thanks for making this known….
This writing is so true and your cartoon is so humurous. I aggree that these protected species are not really protected.
Such much is humanity trying to do good.
Dildo stompers!
Do you happen to have a link to show the scientific evidence that the gene that produces the white color is not found often in the wild? Although it is rare it does occur in wild populations. It is only carried in certain bloodlines of the tigers. The other genetic problems could also be caused by general inbreeding of the regular colored tigers but more than likely it is the fact that humans will keep alive animals that would not normally survive in the wild. Natural selection has been taken out of the equation when it comes to zoo animals.
Zoos are an important part of efforts to breed endangered species. Although each animal trapped in a zoo would probably be happier in the wild (you really can’t prove it one way or the other), in some instances the survival of the species depends on the efforts of zoos.
I realize that we are the reason most species are endangered, but that’s all the more reason for us to do everything we can to restore our populations, and that means captivating some.
Obviously, in-breeding genetically defective animals does not fall under the category of maintaining populations of endangered tigers, so not all practices of zoos are justified, but some certainly are. Don’t boycott zoos altogether.
I agree with Nuria, Jan S, and Benguin; zoos perform a vital role in preserving endangered species through their captive breeding programs, and also further interests in conservation.
The problem of circumventing natural selection (as raised by Jan S) is one that we see in our own societies and evolutionary trends; in an attempt to achieve immortality and perfect health, we allow the continuance of bloodlines which would have perished under the rule of natural law. We prevent nature from acting, and compound our problems: A case in point being the constant famine relief efforts in Africa. Famine happens because a society or bloodline cannot adapt to its environment, does not learn how to use the resources available to it, and is therefore removed by nature through starvation as a means of improving the species. And so it is with other animals, and yes, all you anti-Darwinists, we ARE animals! We should lessen our negative impact on the environment, give animals the wide berth they give us, and let nature take its course. And if it produces a few genetic mutations, so what?
Captive breeding is great for endangered species. Captive inbreeding however, is wrong on so many levels. This is indeed a form of animal abuse. White tigers are beautiful, but I would rather never see a white tiger again, than to know that for every normal white tiger I see there are probably 100s that are suffering the side effects of inbreeding. A sad story indeed.
Not all captive tigers are in zoos. Responsible zoos have nothing to do with such inbreeding. In fact Zoos tend to keep breeding records of all their charges and plan their breeding to avoid inbreeding.
Many private people/organizations keep these animals and continue the inbreeding. [Think Siegfried & Roy, for example].
Lighten up on the zoos.
Just sayin’…
I’m the one who originally created and published the cartoon seen above. To answer Jan S about sources for finding information on white tiger genetics, I would direct you to http://www.bigcatrescue.org/cats/wild/white_tigers.htm who got their information from research conducted by Dr. Ron Tilson, head of the Species Survival Plan and expert on Bengal tigers. He does indeed go one to say that the white genetic mutation can occur in the wild, but that the chances of this happening are 1 in 10,000.
Most zoos do not inbreed these white tigers themselves. But roadside zoos and non-accredited zoos are allowed to purchase white tigers from private breeders who do. Most private breeders operate in either Florida or Texas, since these states have the fewest number of laws regulating exotic animal ownership. I would NEVER support any zoo which gets their white or golden tabby tigers from ‘undisclosed’ sources, as this is pretty much code for ‘we got it from a tiger farm.’ Such tiger farms have experienced fatality rates as high as 80% or more among inbred tigers, and anyone who supports this mess is only encouraging the cruelty to continue.
For this reason, I ONLY support AZA-accredited zoos.
For more information the AZA, please visit: http://www.aza.org/
Thanks for your comment Sarah, and for your efforts to make this information available. We want to help any way we can.
You take some amazing photos and I hope everyone will go check them out.
Thanks Sarah for filling us in on those facts. The inbreeding of mutated and deformed tigers are no doubt the result of “private backyard” breeders, much like the many backyard dog breeders that help populate our animal shelters.
Inbreeding is sick and wrong no matter the species. It should be forbidden by world-wide law to prevent its cruelty and to cease all inbreeding of all species.
Adding to what Cheryl F was saying, the inbreeding also decreases the number of liable tiger candidates for contribution to the Species Survival Plan. At this time, America is NOT directly involved in the Bengal tiger SSP program partly due to the fact that so many of our Bengals have been cross-bred and inbred. They’re a real genetic jumble of different subspecies and related lineages, and keeping track on them, even if they’ve been registered in zoological databases, can be difficult.
Who cares, white tigers are BA!
Wow. We have so many naturally beautiful animals, why would anyone feel we need to “invent” something different. I suppose if all tigers were naturally white somebody would have “engineered” an orange one.
If an animal is endangered, what is the use of keeping its population up if that population isn’t in the wild?
Eventually all tigers will live in zoos. What is the point of that? We don’t need to keep the population thriving in captivity, we need to change the conditions we’ve created in the wild.
Inbreeding is disgusting and wrong and causes unwanted problems no matter what the species is. As the pictures above show, severe deformaties are produced and this seriously diminishes the animals life and health. In breeding to get required profiles is ridiculous the animals are perfect the way they are. White tigers are not all in bred, the statement is technically incorrect as it is a natural recessive gene that only happens to be a problem when the breeder selects the genes that are used, this is what causes problems. When left to mate naturally, although the chance of white tigers is seriously reduced, the cubs produced are healthy and perfectly formed, although they may be white, when inbred they are not always perfectly formed and tend to have problems so this should really be disregarded as saying that white tigers are man made. Its not technically true.
Actually, the article does a pretty good job of explaining that white tigers can occur naturally in the wild. The issue is that in order to get the white gene to show, both Bengal tiger parents need to have a copy of it. In nature, the chances of this happening are about 1 in 10,000. In cases such as this, the tiger cubs are usually very healthy, but there have been multiple reports of mothers attempting to smother or refusing to nurse these abnormally-colored offspring. Researchers believe that this is because adult wild tigers instinctively know that white and golden tabby tigers have a lesser chance of surviving past their first year than normal ones.
In captivity, the only way for two copies of the white gene to meet is through repeated inbreeding. Not all offspring will be white, though, even if the parents were inbred. Some of the litter may be golden tabby or normal orange. Breeders will often display these cats and say “We’re not inbreeding! See? That tiger is not white or golden tabby; he’s orange!”
The fact is, said orange tiger only received one copy of the white gene instead of two, and can still be bred with a another already-inbred tiger to produce more abnormally-colored cubs. The issue with this, of course, is that since all white tigers come from one single cat (named Mohan) who was inbred to his own offspring, there is no possible way for inbreeding to NOT occur.
i think this is a lie there are several known white tigers in the wild.yes some are deformed for the reasons stated but you can not put this on all of them
also not all zoos are bad i have been to several zoos my fave been chester zoo because the animals are not over crouded and they are well looked after
Sorry, XXX. I wish it were a lie, as well. But the last report of a white tiger seen in the wild was in 1858. That tiger was later reported dead. Today, all captive tigers come from one single cat named Mohan, which, if you know anything about genetics, means that they are pretty much like the royal family of big cats.
On the note of zoos, I do believe that many stand for a good cause. If they have conservation in mind, though, they will not breed white tigers or other abnormal animals like ligers and such. Such practice has no place in modern animal care.
Just out of curiosity (and NOT totally believing wikipedia) there ARE supposed to be other lines other than Mohan…..
Add that to breeding with normal orange tigers that also have part of the white tiger genetic make up…
Read sections :-
Tony, Bagheera, and Frosty: A new strain
and especially
The Orissa strain
No bengal.. only Amur..
As well as the comments “Strabismus is associated with white tigers of mixed Bengal/Siberian ancestry. Strabismus is directly linked to a gene and is not a separate consequence of inbreeding”
Any thoughts?
Sorry for the delayed reply in answering your question, Stephen.
Unfortunately, claims of white tigers being unrelated to the original breeding founder (Mohan, mentioned above) are completely unfounded. I have even emailed the directer of Dreamworld Australia’s Tiger Island, mentioned in the wikipedia article you are referring to. He denies all claims that their tigers are not inbred, and (reluctantly) admits that they indeed are.
What you have to consider is the fact that zoos were not required to keep studbook information until the 1980s. No known carriers of the white gene had occurred anywhere in captivity outside of Mohan’s bloodline during the years prior to that point. But since zoos wee not required to keep track of which tigers in which zoos mated with who, it became very difficult for conservationists to track which tigers had good, non-inbred genetics.
For this very reason, no Begal Tigers from the United States are allowed to participate in the Species Survival Plan. Almost all of them are suspected to be in some way related to each other, but it’s nearly impossible to tell without DNA testing. Of course, testing every tiger in the US would be impossibly expensive and therefore impractical.
Whoever wrote the information on Wikipedia was probably mistaken into thinking that only white tigers could produce white offspring, which would naturally make them believe that an orange tiger mating with a white tiger to produce white offspring would not be inbreeding. But any captive carrier of the white gene is already the product of inbreeding. So there is still a high chance that the resulting offspring will suffer and die.
my favorit animal is a lion tigers and jaguars and everone asks me are white tigers helthy and i will say no then they will ask why because they cant blend in with the grass like the balgle tiger can because of this there is so many tigers left in this world there is ony about 200,000 left and i have seen that tiger that you guys have on this website the on that was aboused it got taken out of the wild and got aboused badly help the tigers even if you dont know how care about them!!!!!!!
Hi I would be interested to know more about the white lions.I believe that in the 70’s some cubs were taken from the wild in South Africa and put in the zoo at Pretoria as it was thought they couldn’t survive in the wild. There seem to be a lot of them in captivity now. Is this a similar case to that of the white tigers. I have also read that some conservation bodies are re-introducing them into South Africa at the same time trying to get them recognised as a seperate subspecies.Any thoughts or information would be appreciated.
White lions are a more common occurance than white tigers, as their color difference is caused by a recessive gene as opposed to a freak mutation. It’s a lot like melanism among leopards or jaguars. Because of this, they’re not as inbred as tigers, but are still not safe from irresponsible breeding.
The issue with white lions in the wild is that they don’t survive well due to their coloration, and don’t usually pass on the white gene since females are actually attracted to males with darker manes (darker-maned males usually have more testosterone, and are therefore better-suited to caring for a pride).
People who believe that white lions are a subspecies are greatly mistaken. This is not the case. As with white tigers, they are considered to be ‘genetic aberrations’ by conservation groups and zoologists worldwide.
White lions which are released into reserves will eventually die out due to lioness’ attraction to males with darker manes, and will be displaced by stronger, normally-pigmented males.