White tigers are a fan favorite. Beautiful coat, blue eyes, what’s not to like? But there’s a dark truth behind that beautiful tiger. First and foremost, white tigers aren’t their own species. They are a genetic variation of the Bengal tiger which inhabits the Indian subcontinent. White tigers have their white coats due to a condition called leucism which causes a loss of pigmentation and their white coats and blue eyes.
White tigers are seldom seen in the wild because the chance of a white tiger occurring in the wild is so low that it is near impossible. In order to achieve a white tiger, breeders and zoos inbreed the animals. This is basically selective breeding but with parents who are close genetically. For example: brother and sister. White tigers also suffer from health issues such as lung development, spinal issues, deformed bones, reduced life-spans and immune deficiencies. It is common for white tigers to have deformed faces and crossed eyes. To obtain that picture-perfect white tiger, up to one hundred tigers may be given birth to and destroyed due to a deformed face, and other physical deformities. Due to their lack of skin pigmentation, they are more at risk from diseases such as cancer. Besides this, a white tiger would never be able to survive in the wild. Upon birth, its parents and siblings may attempt to destroy it because it is unrecognizable from its parents. If the white tiger did manage to survive infancy then it would be greeted with another set of challenges. Due to its skin color, any prey that it would attempt to hunt would spot it from far away proving it next to impossible to complete a hunt.
The white tiger suffers from a variety of problems yet breeders and zoos continue to breed them. Why? Because these tigers are adorable and people pay heavy prices to see them and pet them. They are a very profitable animal and it is financially profitable to destroy those one hundred cubs in order to obtain the picture-perfect cub which will make thousands of dollars. The breeding of white tigers should not be supported.