vilakins | Happy birthday!

those are very impressive! Are they like all cats - deaf because they are white with blue eyes?

Not that I've heard. The Wiki entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_tiger) doesn't mention deafness, and they certainly do all right in the wild if not hunted down by humans for their fur. :-(

I don't trust that Wiki entry. I did a lot of googling on white tigers a few months back & read text and saw pictures that contradict a lot of it.

Some white tigers are deaf, but it's uncommon because the type of white they have is genetically different from the type of white that causes deafness. A high percentage of captive white tigers are defective in other ways, due to in-breeding. A careful breeder will probably have mostly good specimens- unfortunately most of the breeders aren't careful.

White tigers tend to be larger (and often have thicker and longer coats- the 'ruff' is rare on a Bengal) than standard Bengals because many (in the US at least, nearly all) are the result of cross-breeding with Siberians. It's not true that the 'white' varieties of a species are healthier and stronger- actually it's the 'black' varieties that tend that way, with the white being more frail.

Also there have never been stable breeding populations of white tigers in the wild. Some populations have carried the white gene and had it crop up now and again, but all reports were isolated- at most a white mother and a couple cubs of varying stages of lightness. Hunters were more likely to kill them, both because they made better trophies and because they were easier to spot, but even so, it was rare for a hunter to find one.

I thought the deafness had something to do with albinism sometimes? Not that white cats are albinos, but I seem to remember reading there was a connection somewhere...

There are 3 main genetic factors behind white AFAIK, and I'm pretty sure that albinism, reduction in the color producing element melanin alone, isn't usually associated with deafness- it's often associated with poor vision, due to light sensitivity, I think. The other main factors are leucism in which all pigment producing agents are faded and something that goes under different names but mainly refers to 'white patch'.

Albinos generally have reduced color in the eyes as well as skin and hair, but leucistic specimens usually have normally colored eyes. Occasionally a leucistic animal will be partially normal colored, but generally this will be in a sharply defined area, unlike the 'white patch' which is usually very irregular. I have a photo of a leucestic left/right cardinal in which exactly half of the bird is snowy white and the other half is normal.

Albinos generally have a yellow tinge to their skin/fur, whereas leucistic specimens' white is nearly always a pure white. The leucistic animals seem healthier. 'White' deer are not terribly uncommon, but frequently have malformation of the spine, legs and head. I think the malformed deer are mostly 'white patch' rather than true albinos.

'White patch' is the most damaging of all. In various species this is associated with deafness or blindness if the white encircles an eye or ear, or malformed digestive tract in what look like all white animals (genetically, they're white patched on a white background IIRC). In Australian Shepherd dog breeding 2 of one particular coat pattern often results in blind/deaf dogs. In pinto horses, breeding 2 of one particular patch pattern often results in pure white foals who die within a few days.

Avoiding inbreeding is why Zion Wildlife Gardens sent the cubs I played with to South Africa in exchange for white lion cubs; breeders like to mix up their gene pool.

*nods* Careful breeders keep records of the bloodlines of not only their own cats, but of all the reputable places they can trade stock. Unfortunately, there are a lot of places that breed white tigers indiscriminately. My local zoo was stupid enough to buy a brother sister pair quite a few years ago. I think they wound up neutering them because the cubs were so sickly they couldn't be shown.

[rolls eys] You'd think a zoo would know better.

Not the world's best zoo. One of the white tigers later killed a keeper who was so careless he walked into the enclosure to clean it *while* the tiger was there. He even left the outer gate open, but luckily the tiger didn't get out and hurt anyone else.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to

snowgrouse!

Thank you!

Have fun on your day!

Oh, those are gorgeous! Thank you!

*big squeezyhugs*

[hugs back] The one in your icon is just beautiful with his ice blue eyes.

I still can't believe it's a painting, even if I have a large print of it. Only when I looked at it really closely I realised it was a painting...

Really! Wow. I thought it was a very good and clear photo.

Happy birthday!

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