White Tigress
by Diana Mary Sharpton
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$350
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5568.000 x 3712.000 pixels
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Title
White Tigress
Artist
Diana Mary Sharpton
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photography
Description
The white tiger or bleached tiger is a pigmentation variant of the Bengal tiger, which is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha in the Sunderbans region and especially in the former State of Rewa.
The inbreeding of white tigers began in 1951 when a white tiger named Mohan was removed from the wild and bred back to his daughters and grand-daughters. For a long time it was believed that all white tigers descended from Mohan but it was discovered that another source of white tigers came from a cross between a Bengal and Siberian that took place in 1976. It is now believed that white tigers in the U.S. now have descended from the cross breeding. So now, not only are these white tigers severely inbred they are also cross-bred.
What people call the snow tiger or the royal white tiger are not true species. They are in fact caused by a very rare white-tiger2genetic mutation that is termed Leucism. This mutation prevents the pigment from coloring the skin and fur which is why we see white fur, chocolate stripes, blue eyes, and a pink nose. This mutation is so rare that it is estimated that only one in every 10,000 tigers born in the wild is white. Due to this mutation robbing them of their camouflage, white tigers in the wild rarely survive long enough to pass on their genes. Therefore, white tigers are only found in captivity. In captivity the prevalence of this mutation is increased through inbreeding brother to sister or father to daughter for multiple generations. This inbreeding leads to several severe health problems in white tigers and sometimes even in the orange and black cubs in the same litter. These health problems are generally kept a secret from the public and can include spinal deformities, cleft palates, club feet, mental impairments, defective organs, immune deficiencies, hip dysplasia, and bulging eyes. Also, the gene that is responsible for the white coloration causes the optic nerve to be connected to the wrong side of the brain which means that all white tigers are cross-eyed even if their eyes look normal. Because this gene is so rare and there are so many birth defects, the death rate of white tiger cubs is astonishingly high. When an orange and white tiger are bred, only 1 in 4 cubs are born white and of those 80% die from birth defects. Only 1 in 30 of the surviving white cubs will be suitable for display. So what happens to the excess orange and black cubs and the white cubs not suitable for display? The white cubs rarely end up in accredited facilities but end up being killed or sold to neglectful facilities. The outcomes for the orange and black cubs are not much better. Most end up being sold into the pet trade, becoming victims of canned hunts, or being killed and sold for parts in the Asian markets.
Today sanctuaries are working very hard to educate the public about the horrors surrounding the breeding of white tigers but it is hard for the public to believe all these horrible and sad stories. Always remember that when you are looking at a white tiger what caused that white tiger and the health problems that it could currently be suffering. Also, don’t forget how many white tiger cubs it took to get one normal looking one and the fate of that one’s litter mates.
Uploaded
September 3rd, 2020
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