With only 200 white tigers in the world and just four in India, this fair big cat stares extinction. Though people disregard them as albinos, there is more to the tale of their slim existence. MUSBA HASHMI speaks to wildlife experts to bring you a report on Rewa’s pride
The founding father of white tigers in India was Mohan who was captured as a cub by the Maharaja of Rewa in 1951. Since then his progenies have produced several white tigers which were not only given away to the zoos in India but abroad too. To continue Mohan’s legacy, the Madhya Pradesh Government inaugurated the world’s first white tiger safari in Mukundpur, Rewa. The safari was named after the iconic ruler of Rewa — Raja Martand Singh.
Sanjay Rai Khare, Director, Mukundpur Safari, tells you that the safari which covers 25 hectares was inaugurated on April 3, 2016 and is is divided into two parts — one is the open area and the other one is an enclosed zoo. “In the open area there are two white tigers — Vindya, who is 13 and Raghu, who is five-and-a-half years old. In the zoo there are two — Gopi, who is five old and his partner Sonam, the youngest of the lot, aged three,” Khare tells you. Unfortunately, Radha, the third white tigress in the open area died as a result of a fight with the other tiger.
The good part is that the tourists get to see the tigers even during monsoon. “When we take tourists for a safari, we make sure that they get to see the tiger. If they can’t see it in one round, then we will repeat the rounds until one is spotted,” he tells you. However, if the tourist is short on time, they can visit the zoo to see the tigers.
Khare tells you that the lifespan of tigers on an average is 10 to 12 years in wild. This doubles when they are in the zoo. “In the wild you it is survival of the fittest. They have to hunt and fight for their survival. In an enclosed area these factors are eliminated. Everything is given to them on a platter,” he says and tells you that they get a traffic of 700-800 people daily. This figures rises to 1500 on weekends.
Khare says that Mohan, after being kept in captivity for 19 years was finally released into the wild where he died at almost 20. Mohan was last spotted in this area before the safari was opened.
In the zoo, which is spread over 75 hectares, there are 17 enclosures. The entry is `20. Apart from the two white tigers, the zoo also has three orange tigers. There are a couple of lions, leopards, sloth bears, sambhar deer, black bucks, nilgai, cheetal to name a few,” Khare tells you.
Though many people think that all white tigers are albinos, this is incorrect. The arguement put up in favour of the albino theory falls flat when they are questioned on why they have stripes.
“if the tiger is albino, they have to be completely white, even their eyebrows are white. “But white tigers are a different species. They have a combination of white skin and black strips. This is due to a genetic mutation. There are two genes in a male tiger and two in female — yellow and red respectively, which are responsible for the stripe colour of the tiger. During mating, when the gene for yellow colour is unable to express itself and remains suppressed, it results in the discolouration. But the chances of this happening is rare. Therefore, white tigers are rare. No one can guess the probability of a white cub in the litter. It all depends on the genes. Maybe one in the litter can be white, or maybe in the first generation we can have one or maybe none at all. We cannot guess it,” Khare explains.
However, there are problems with the population of the white tigers the world over. They are all progeneies of Mohan and his daughter Radha who was also white. This has led to inbreeding. This one is told is not good for white tigers.
“It results in a number of defects and abnormalities, thereby reducing the life of white tigers. Some of the side-effects of inbreeding are cross-eyed, short height, absence of a tail, abnormality in the limbs, kidney problems, arched or crooked backbone and twisted neck. It can also lead to inbreeding depression, which means reduced biological fitness (lesser ability to survive),” Khare shares.
The inbreeding programme stopped a few years back. The tiger tigeress are mated with an orange tiger naturally. The down side is that this reduces the chances of a white cub. One is told that all over the world there are around 200 to 250 white tigers left. All of them are Mohan’s or that of his progenies.
“The problem, he tells you that in order to get a white cub, one will have to mate the white tigress with a white tiger. This will automatically lead to inbreeding. There is no way that one can get a white cub without getting some genes of Mohan’s,” Khare tells you.
The only hope is that they continue a breeding programme where Vindhya is mated with an orange tiger. So far, the attempts have been unsuccessful.
“Vindya has been pushed to mate with an orange tiger many times, but she was not able to conceive even once. Maybe, it is because she is 13. To continue the process, now we are trying to mate Sonam with an orange tiger.
This is not an easy task. It is a long process. The first step is to make the animal comfortable. This takes time. “To begin with, an orange tiger is left in the enclosure of the white tigeress for only a few hours. This continues for a few days until the animals start feeling comfortable with each other.
“The next step is to let them have their food together. We give both tigers their share of food and let them have it in the same space. This continues for a while until their fear is gone and their comfort level has increased. Then the next step is when we make them eat from the same share of food. Once this stage is reached, it means that they have become comfortable with each other and can stay together in the same enclosure. By this time the tigers are ready for mating,” Khare says.
Hans Dalal, Wildlife Conservationist feels that conservation of white tigers has become difficult. “Even in inbreeding there is no guarantee of getting a pure white cub. We can only expect this, but there is no surity. Same goes with breeding them with an orange tiger. There is no surity. They are tigers, they need to be in the wild. Protecting them is a challenge. The chances of them being killed is high. Tigers are beautiful animals. A white will stands out because of its colour. They can’t hide,” Dalal tells you. Sadly, most white tigers in the world are living in captivity. Therefore, one has to be more careful when it comes to wildlife.
His interest in wildlife conservation began after his his visit to Ghana. “I was in Ghana in 2007. When I came back, I realised that this is where my passion lay. The feeling of being in the jungle is indescribable. I fell in love with the Nature and the wildlife,” he explains.
“Access to wildlife through National Parks and safaris need to be restricted. We need to understand that in order to live, we need other living beings as well. The wildlife can’t just be ignored. We can’t survive on our own. We have to preserve nature and wild animals,” Dalal says.
THE LEGACY
In 1951, when the Maharaja of Rewa had gone for a hunting party in Bandhavgarh, he found a tigress with four nine-month-old cubs. One of them was white. All of them were shot except for the white cub who ran away. The maharaja ordered his men to search for the cub and bring it to him.
During the capture process, the white cub mauled a man and was clubbed on the head. The cub fell unconscious and wasn't expected to wake up. But after sometime, it came back into its senses and was taken to the Maharaja. The cub was named Mohan, which means ‘enchanter'. It is also one of the names of Lord Krishna.
The tiger was housed in his unused palace at Govindgarh. Mohan stayed with the Maharaja for 19 years. During this period he produced as many as 34 cubs, including both white and orange. Out of which 21 cubs were white, a result of inbreeding. His cubs were donated to the zoos in India and abroad to protect them from inbreeding and thereby reducing the risks associated with it. Six zoos acquired white tigers from the Maharaja of Rewa including Bristol Zoo in England and Crandon Park Zoo in Miami. Mohan died in the year 1970, aged almost 20.
