There is no such
species as the Royal White Bengal Tiger. That name was
invented by breeders to sell these cats as a rare endangered
species that had to be preserved for future generations.
In the wild if two tigers, both with the specific recessive
white gene, give birth to a cub there is a 1 in 10,000 chance
it will be white. It will not survive in the wild because it
cannot camouflage itself and is genetically inferior to its
brothers and sisters.
In the 1970s in a
zoo in South Dakota there was a litter with a white cub. That
litter was bought by a dealer and sold to a breeder who began
inbreeding them (brother to sister, father to daughter, etc.)
to produce more white cubs which he sold throughout the
country to other breeders. This inbreeding which has been
going on for 40 years continues today with their offspring
because of the demand for white tiger cubs. They have sold for
as much as $50,000.
Because the white
gene is so recessive, when two white tigers are bred, most of
the offspring are unwanted golden tigers, and cubs with birth
defects.
Breeders have
experienced tiger cub mortality rates as high as 80% because
the gene is a deleterious mutation co-linked to other
mutations that cause immune deficiency, scoliosis of the
spine, cleft palates, club feet, and impaired vision.
All white tigers
have crossed eyes, whether it shows or not, because the gene
that causes the white coat always causes the optic nerve to be
wired to the wrong side of the brain. That is one reason white
tigers are such a favorite in tiger acts. They are far more
dependent on their masters because they cant see clearly and
their reaction time is diminished due to their genetic
impairments. Only 1 in 30 of the white cats can consistently
perform.
So the next time
you see a tiger perform, keep in mind that for every white
tiger you see there were hundreds of tigers who were discarded
or died to make that one performing white tiger possible.
Siegfried and Roy performing with white
tiger cubs.
A white tiger with birth defects.
