*spins giant wheel of what staff can fuck up next*
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yumearashi: White tiger fact vs fiction White tigers can be...
White tiger fact vs fiction
White tigers can be very beautiful animals. As a child, I delighted at a rare chance to see some on a family trip to Vegas. But there’s a lot of incorrect information out there about white tigers. Let’s take a look at some white tiger facts.
White tigers are not a species nor a breed. They are a color mutation called leucism which is carried on recessive genes. While white tigers can occur spontaneously in nature (very rarely, about 1 in 10,000 births), they can only be deliberately created by severe inbreeding - father to daughter, mother to son, brother to sister.
They are not Siberian tigers, or tigers that have adapted to blend into snowy environments. The gene comes from the Bengal species, which is (sub)tropical. Naturally occurring white tigers seldom survive long in the wild due to their lack of camouflage.White tigers are not a conservation concern, and campaigns to ‘preserve the rare Royal White Bengal Tiger’ and the like are a deliberate misrepresentation for the sake of profit. Almost all white tigers are ‘man-made’ - that is, the result of deliberate breeding by humans, rather than naturally occurring - the existence of white tigers per se does not do anything to maintain genetic diversity among the species. Furthermore, almost all of the white tigers you see on display are mixed species - for example, half Bengal, half Siberian - making them worthless for conservation purposes.
White tigers are not healthy animals. The close and multi-generational inbreeding required to produce white tigers has resulted in a number of genetically driven defects, such as spinal and facial deformities, defective internal organs, immune deficiency, neurological disorders, club feet, cleft palates, hip dysplasia, crossed eyes, and more.
The breeding of white tigers is not approved by the American Zoological Association (AZA). The AZA has banned the breeding of white tigers (along with white lions and king cheetahs) by their accredited zoos. Their report reads, “intentional [in]breeding to achieve rare color-morphs […] has been clearly linked with various abnormal, debilitating, and, at times, lethal, external and internal conditions and characteristics.”
Breeders do not always get the animals they want on the first try. Because the gene is double recessive, attempting to breed for white tigers often results in normal-colored tigers that still have the same genetic health problems. These and other undesired cubs - those with visible deformities, serious health issues, and/or poor temperament or intellect - may be destroyed at birth, or raised in spartan conditions for their body parts, valuable on the black market. One estimate calculates that 30-60 cats must be destroyed in order to get one profitable white tiger.
It is true that white tigers are beautiful, as are other big cat color variants such as golden tigers, white lions, and king cheetahs. Cherished because they are so rare, they have been the source of myths and legends. Let’s keep white tigers as treasured happenstance, beautiful accidents created by mother nature instead of cruelly manufactured genetic ruins. Don’t support those who inbreed these animals for profit. As hard as it may be to miss out, you can end the cruelty. It’s a simple as turning your back.
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pukowww: My new oc Nebula😊😊
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crowtez: coulsart: people are weirdly nicer to me when i play mercy wtf… its waifu power
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kaydeekrunk: hebizuki: Sip sip sip #hognose #snake #snek...
Sip sip sip
#hognose #snake #snek #reptiblrSomeone call the cops. This is too cute to be legal.
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mirthful-crier: rakkuguy: nerides: peach-n-key: ???????? … ??...
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its weak to fire
the sun
is weak
to fire
THE SUN IS WEAK TO FIRE
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captioned-vines: catsvines: ten outta ten Person recording:...
ten outta ten
Person recording: [monotone] “Holy shit. Holy shit. Beautiful.” [whispers] “Ten out of ten.”
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Type your favorite Pokemon in the Gif feature and post the first result!
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yung-rage: good morning fandom
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arht: no offense but let bisexual girls talk about boys like… y'all praise us when we gush about...
arht:
no offense but let bisexual girls talk about boys like… y'all praise us when we gush about other girls but when we mention a cute boy y'all call us straight… like how do you expect bisexuals to feel comfortable with themselves if you only show validation for part of their attraction?? it just doesn’t make sense??
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duck-quack-sound-effect: BIG boy
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discosmackdown: i took out the enemy’s hanzo and his ghost came...
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astral-veil: titaniumbat: browningtons: pokemon go is cool and all, but what about dark souls...
pokemon go is cool and all, but what about dark souls go?
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paperchainsaw: Big hair day!
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