The pictures above are of a white tiger by the name of Kenny. He looks like a very odd white tiger doesn’t he? He’s is the result of selective inbreeding. In an attempt to create a tiger that made up the best of traits this “down syndrome tiger” came to be. This resulted in severe deformities for this poor fellow, and being labeled as mentally retarded. Kenny has long since passed. It’s surprising for a down syndrome tiger to be kept alive for so long. Due to their nature they generally don’t live long if their kept alive in the first place. Being unable to properly maneuver their surroundings and participating in standard tiger activities.
White Tiger Inbreeding
All of the tiger inbreeding is done at a high cost. It’s actually the product of a gene mutation gone terribly wrong. Today we have enough white tigers in captivity that we don’t need to inbreed. White tigers we see actually aren’t a true species, and it’s necessary for them to be inbred to get the proper recessive genes in that case. The white tiger can however breed with another tiger is a heterozygous tiger. This means that there is a 25% chance that the offspring will turn out white. This is called out crossing. It’s commonly used but comes down to the game of luck, but it’s much safer than doing something like inbreeding. Giving way for even a slight possibility of a Down Syndrome Tiger is saddening to say the least. Hopefully as we progress true white tiger species will continue to thrive like the “Armur Tigers.” These white tigers were selectively breed to stand on their own by a man named Robert Baudy.
White Tiger Care
It’s said that these down syndrome tigers can also be the result of improper care. The pushed in face is obviously a genetic mishap, but I figured it was important to note that there is a lot that goes into this. It’s not all bad though, look at the mortality rates. Some people will claim that white tigers will have upwards of 80% mortality rates. This is simply not true. Their infant mortality rates are no different than an orange tiger in captivity.
Down Syndrome Tiger Rarity
Down syndrome tigers are rare. It relies heavily on the management of the tiger itself and the mutation. It’s sad to know that some of these creatures end up like this simply because of improper care. We are progressing further and further to getting white tigers healthy as a whole. It would be great to never have to see a down syndrome tiger like Kenny. It’s a terrible way to go about life from the start to the finish if you ask me. The worst part is, is that the entire thing was against his own will. In the wild white tigers don’t necessarily exist, being a very rare occurrence. When they are born by pure luck they almost never reach full adulthood given the fact that white tigers are at an evolutionary disadvantage. They’d stick out like a sore thumb amongst their families making them an easy target. Luckily this means that these creatures don’t have to suffer from forced inbreeding that could potentially produce a down syndrome tiger.
White Tiger Benefits and Disadvantages
While the white tiger coast are beautiful it’s also correlates to the fact that they have a weaker immune system. This means that they aren’t able to fight off outside forces as well as their brothers and sisters. White tigers do have an advantage in the fact that their hairs react to the external temperature. Allowing or them to get a nice thick fur coat when it’s cold outside, but this doesn’t out way the bad things that can happen to a white tiger. A “Down syndrome tiger” can also have kidney problems, bad backs, club foot, miscarriages, depression, light sensitivity and of course the physical deformities. On top of it all they are prone to be cross eyed due to bad neurological connections, and this isn’t limited to down syndrome tigers its for all white tigers. This however isn’t limited to the white tigers specifically, this goes back generations. It is however prominent in white tigers. Though every negative has a little flip, and in this case the
white tiger is actually on average larger than its fellow orange tiger, but I’m not sure if you can really say that ways up against all of the negatives.