Tigers are light yellow or brownish yellow and white, with black stripes. Big cats have yellowish or brownish-yellow fur and are covered with black stripes, and there are also white tigers.


White tigers are a variety of Bengal tigers, but they are not created by nature; rather, they are caused by a rare genetic mutation called albinism. This mutation prevents pigments from coloring the skin and fur, resulting in white fur, chocolate stripes, blue eyes, and a pink nose.


It is estimated that only one in 10,000 wild tigers is white, as this mutation takes away their camouflage and they rarely survive long enough in the wild to pass on their genes. Therefore, white tigers can only be kept in captivity.


The white tiger is not a separate subspecies, so there is no danger of extinction. They do not live anywhere on Earth that can help them survive, and they have never had their own habitat.


For years, breeders and exhibitors have been using white tigers as an endangered species, so it is wrong to continue to breed them. In fact, white tigers are raised mainly to make money, not as part of any species' survival plan, and it is reported that a white tiger cub can sell for $60,000.


The inbreeding of the white tiger began in 1951 when a white tiger named "Mohan" was removed from the wild and allowed to continue to breed with its daughter and granddaughter.


For a long time, it was thought that all white tigers were descended from Mohan, but in 1976 it was discovered that the offspring of a Bengal tiger and a Siberian tiger was also a white tiger.


Inbreeding can cause serious health problems for white tigers, sometimes even orange and black cubs born to the same litter. These health problems are usually kept secret from the public and may include spinal deformities, cleft palate, deformed feet, mental disorders, organ defects, immunodeficiency, hip dysplasia, and eye swelling.


The gene responsible for white fur also causes an error in the connection of the optic nerve to one side of the brain, meaning that all white tigers are strabismic (cross-eyed), even if their eyes appear normal. Because the gene is rare and has many birth defects, the mortality rate of white tiger cubs is incredibly high.


When orange tigers and white tigers mate and breed, only one white tiger cub is born, and 80% of them die due to sudden defects. When you see a white tiger, remember what caused its formation and the health problems it may face. Also, don't forget how many white tiger cubs have to be sacrificed to get a normal white tiger and the fate of those cubs.