Tiger Colours -- The albino tiger.

Evidence of albinism in tigers:

There is very little evidence of albinism occurring in tigers:

Queries to various experts have, so far, not found one who has sighted a genuine albino tiger. In fact, many go so far as to emphatically state they do not exist and are a fallacy. This includes several veterinarians, zoos, and one geneticist whose primary interest is in tigers.
No photographic evidence seems to exist.
All images of 'albino' tigers thus far reported to this site have proven to be white tigers and not true albinos.

The photographs on this page would be some of the most pale white tigers this site has yet found. You will occasionally find them displayed as albino tigers; this is incorrect.

These are very white Bengals, but they do have pigmentation which shows as grey-pink mottling on the nose and lips, dark eyes, some very faint striping on the tail, and colour in the paw pads. A true albino tiger would not only lack pigment in all these areas, but would also not have the striped skin evident when a tiger is shaved in preparation for an operation.

Albino tigers and the hunt:

There are two historic records of albino tigers being located in the wilds of India.

The first simply documented an albino tiger as having been shot. This entry was amongst the many routinely kept records of white tigers which fell to the hunter.

The second record noted that a normal-coloured tigress was shot, along with her four cubs. Two of the cubs were the standard orange, but the others were unusually white, having long necks and pink eyes. The eye colour is certain confirmation that they were fully albino. The long necks indicate breeding depression. (Note: The white tiger pictured on the following page also displays breeding depression in having a sway back and malformed forelimbs).

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