White Tiger Information
White tigers are an Asian species, found from the frozen tundra of the Soviet Far East, south to the humid jungles of Malaya and Indonesia, and west to the hot, hardwood forests of India. There are five living subspecies; three others are already extinct. Current estimates put the world population of wild tigers at about 5,000-7,000, the most numerous race being the Bengal race, distributed among some 18 tiger reserves and sanctuaries of India (and a half-dozen in Nepal and Bangladesh), accounting for over two-thirds of all wild tigers.
History of big cat hybridisation:
Various hybridisations amongst cats occurred back in the days when zoos particularly wanted oddities to attract the public. These date back as far as the 1800s, when zoos were more menageries designed to turn a profit rather than carefully controlled attempts at animal conservation.
Cross-breeding in India was first recorded in 1837 when a Princess of the native Indian state Jamnagar presented a hybrid big cat to Queen Victoria.
In Europe, hybridisation can be traced back to before the First Great War, when German Carl Gottfried Hagenbeck carried out experiments with big cats and then noted that the males were likely to remain sterile.
Hybridisation in the wild:
It is extremely rare for any wild animal to breed with one from another species.
For instance, in the wild the Grant's and Thompson's gazelle live together happily in mixed herds. The species are very alike and only experts are able to discern one from the other. Despite this there are no known instances of these gazelle interbreeding.
White tiger controversy:
The white tiger controversy among zoos is a small part ethics and a large part economics. For example, the tiger SSP has condemned breeding white tigers because of their mixed ancestry (most have been hybridized with other subspecies or are of unknown lineage) and because they serve no conservation purpose. Owners of white tigers say white tigers are popular exhibit animals and help increase zoo attendance and, at $60,000 each, revenues as well.
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