![]() Mohan's descendants were deliberately inbred by humans to increase the chances of passing on his mutation. A white tiger that was captured in central India in 1951 and named Mohan is the ancestor of almost all white tigers in captivity today. However, the mutation is extremely rare in the wild, and the last known wild white tiger was hunted and killed in 1958. White tiger gene variations originate from the Bengal tiger population. A 2013 study published in the journal Current Biology found that a mutation in a pigment gene called SLC45A2 is responsible for stopping the production of red and yellow pigments that give normal tigers their color, resulting in tigers that are white with black stripes. The white tigers seen in some zoos are not a separate species or subspecies from orange tigers rather, they are the result of a mutation in a single gene. Related: The strange history of white tigers Are white tigers natural?Ī sleeping white tiger cub. However, a study published in the journal Current Biology in 2018 presented genomic evidence supporting the traditional classification of six genetically distinct subspecies of tigers sondaica, and continental tigers, a subspecies that contains all other tigers under the Bengal tiger name P.t. A 2015 study published in the journal Science Advances argued that there are only two subspecies of tigers: Sunda tigers, which combined Sumatran tigers and extinct Bali tigers and Javan tigers into one subspecies under the name P.t. In recent years, some researchers have challenged the traditional tiger classification. sondaica) disappeared by the early 1980s, according to the IUCN Cat Specialist Group. virgata) went extinct in the early 1970s and Javan tigers ( P.t. balica) were last documented in the late 1930s, Caspian tigers ( P.t. Humans wiped out the extinct tiger subspecies by hunting them and destroying their habitats. The living subspecies were Bengal tigers ( Panthera tigris tigris), Amur tigers ( P.t. What are the different types of tiger?įor many years, scientists separated tigers into nine subspecies, including six living subspecies and three extinct subspecies. ![]() Today, scientists estimate that tigers occupy less than about 6% of the land they once did, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Tigers used to have a much larger range, but poaching, deforestation and other human activities have caused tiger populations and habitats to shrink. Tiger habitats include tropical forests, arid forests, flooded mangrove forests and taigas (cold forests with coniferous trees), according to the San Diego Zoo. Most populations inhabit tropical regions in countries such as Thailand, India and Indonesia, but tigers can also be found in much colder environments, including in the far east of Russia, according to Panthera, a wild cat conservation organization. ![]()
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