White Bengal Tiger Born Without Stripes

For Fareeda, a six-month-old female Bengal tiger cub, being a rare white tiger just isn't cool enough. She also has no stripes.

Fareeda was born at the Cango Wildlife Ranch in South Africa last Christmas. Part of a litter of three white tigers, Fareeda's lack of stripes wasn't something the keepers at the Cango Wildlife Ranch had counted on. Noticing that only two of the three newborn cubs bore the signature stripes, the keepers were delighted, though cautiously optimistic.

Just because a tiger is born without stripes is no guarantee that it will remain that way. "Some cubs develop stripes in their first few months," said keeper Odette Claassen. "We knew there was the possibility of the cub's very light black and ginger stripes darkening over time." But after six months, keepers declared it safe to say that snow-white Fareeda will remain sans stripes.

Fareeda is a part of a special breeding program at the Cape Town sanctuary that aims to perpetuate the rare white Bengal tiger. Most white Bengals are bred in the United States, the majority of them descended from Mohan, a white Bengal male captured and bred in the 1950s. So Fareeda's birth as part of the ranch's breeding program already made her special, though not as much as her unusual coat.

White tigers in general no longer exist in the wild, and among the few living in captivity, Fareeda is particularly remarkable. "As far as we know there are only about 20 recorded cases of 'stripeless' white tigers in the world," claims the ranch. All such cases are in captivity in the United States, progenies of Mohan. The missing stripes are the result of a recessive gene carried by both of Fareeda's parents.

Fareeda has become quite the hot attraction at the Cango Wildlife Ranch, a blessing for keepers who are working hard to educate the public about these rare animals and the importance of breeding programs like theirs.

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