Breeding Centre For White Tigers In Rewa

A White Tiger in Captivity
Niranj Vaidyanathan

The environment ministry has given an in-principle approval for setting up a breeding centre in Rewa in Madhya Pradesh. Rewa was the home of the last wild white tiger, nicknamed Mohan. The bred tigers will be released into semi-wild habitats. Mohan’s genetic material is said to be the basis for white tigers in captivity. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) said that the Central Zoo Authority will setup the conservation breeding centre.


Background info on White Tigers courtesy Wikipedia

The white tiger is a recessive mutant of the Bengal tiger, which was reported in the wild from time to time in Assam, Bengal, Bihar and especially from the former State of Rewa (now in Madhya Pradesh). A white tiger’s pale coloration is caused by the presence of a recessive mutant gene. Rewa Maharaja Martand Singh first observed male white tiger Mohan during his visit to Govindgarh jungle at Rewa. After hunting for months, he was able to capture the first living white tiger seen in nature. With help from official veterinary experts, he unsuccessfully tried to breed the white tiger with colored female tigers. Eventually, however, he succeeded in creating a second generation of white tigers. In time, it expanded around the world. White tigers are not albinos as true albino tigers would not have stripes.

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  1. Shekar Dattatri

    Just goes to show how screwed up our priorities are! Idiotic, wasteful schemes like these have no real conservation value. Of what possible benefit is it to create more highly inbred white tigers? It’s almost as if all our real conservation problems have been solved and there is nothing else to do but indulge oneself in such trivial pursuits. Mera Bharat Mahaan, Jai Hind!

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