WHITE TIGERS NATURALLY EXISTED IN THE WILD until the 1950’s. In the past few hundred years, Asia has lost more than 99% of its wild tiger population, and along with it, the rare and unique colors that existed. White tigers receive a “bad rap” on the internet. They are falsely labeled as “inbred” or “genetically deficient” by people with a political agenda or those who do not fully understand the biological relevance. As often as this condemnation has been repeated, it does not hold up to scientific scrutiny. No research on the subject has ever been conducted and white tigers have the same health and lifespan of any other tigers. The myth that there is something inherently wrong with white tigers persists to this day and plays a large role in zoo politics. White tigers have a normally occurring, simple recessive genetic color variant known as leucism, much the same as the leucistic (white) deer common to the Carolinas. Leucism and albinism are not the same. White tigers are not albinos and do not carry the genetic weaknesses associated with albinism. According to a recent study published in Current Biology, the gene known as SLC45A2, is a naturally expressed color variant that was common in wild tiger populations prior to extirpation by poachers, hunters and habitat fragmentation in the 1950’s. Tigers are not the only species that carries the SLC45A2 gene. It can be found in horses, chickens, and as much as 20% of the human population. Royal white tigers (white tigers with black stripes) are just one of a number of color variations that naturally existed in tigers. There were also snow tigers (white with white stripes), golden tabby tigers (white with red stripes and a red saddle), melanistic tigers (all black), and marbled tigers (orange body covered by more than 75% black striping) to name a few. Since we have lost more than 99% of the genetic diversity of wild tigers, today we only see standard orange/black, royal white, snow, and tabby tigers; the last three variations are only found in captivity.