White baby tigers are the result of two parent tigers that both carry the gene for white fur. This gene is extremely rare in the wild and since it is recessive, white baby tigers can only be born when both parents are carrier of the gene. When two parents that are carrier produce offspring, there is only a 25 percent chance for each cub to become a white baby tiger.

Some people believe that the white baby tigers and their parents belong to a separate tiger species or that they are white since they are Siberian tigers from snowy landscapes. Both conclusions are wrong. White baby tigers do not belong to a special white tiger species or subspecies, they hail from normal orange tigers. It is instead a very rare mutation that is causing the fur to be white instead of orange. Regarding the mix up between white baby tigers and Siberian baby tigers, it is true that Siberian tigers live in snowy environments. Siberian tigers are however orange, just a little paler than tigers from snow free habitats. 

A third common misconception regarding white baby tigers is that they are albino tigers. This is also wrong. All the known white baby tigers in the world have stripes. A few of them have really pale stripes that are almost invisible, but they are there. A majority of the white baby tigers have clearly visible black or brown stripes. If the white baby tigers display brown striping, it is a sign that tells us that they have some Siberian tiger ancestry since the Siberian tiger features brown stripes instead of black stripes. The white baby tigers also have properly pigmented eyes. The eyes are usually blue, but they can also be green or amber.

The birth of white baby tigers is extremely rare in the wild, but since white baby tigers do not belong to a special tiger species or subspecies, they are not considered more or less endangered than the other tigers. Conservational efforts usually strive to protect all the tigers or a certain subspecies of tiger; not white baby tigers and their parents. White baby tigers born in captivity will not grow up to become breeder tigers in standard conservational projects, since only tigers with the normal orange coating is used in such programs.

Almost all the white baby tigers that are born in captivity today can trace their ancestry back to one single white Bengal tiger named Mohun. Mohun was captured as a cub in India in 1951. He belonged to a litter consisting of four cubs, but he was the only white baby tiger. The other three baby tigers where killed together with their mother. Mohun was brought up at the palace of the Maharaja and when he became sexually mature he was mated with a Bengal tigress named Begum. Begum was not a white Bengal tiger; she displayed the normal orange coloration.

Mohun and Begum produced three litters. The first litter consisted of two orange cubs and each of the following two litters was made up by four orange coloured cubs. The Maharaja wanted to have white baby tigers, so he decided that Mohun should mate with Radha, one of the female cubs from the second litter. Father and daughter produced three litters together. The first litter consisted of four white baby tigers, the second litter of one orange and two white baby tigers, and the third litter or four white baby tigers. In the third litter, two of the white baby tigers died very young.

More info on big and small wild cats:

Bengal Tigers
White Bengal Tigers
Royal Bengal Tigers
Bengal Tigers Facts
Jaguar Animal - Jaguar Cats
Black Jaguar (Animal)
Jaguar Animal Facts
Ocelot - Ocelot cat
Ocelot facts & Information
Siberian Tiger
White Siberian Tiger
Siberian Tiger Habitat
Siberian Tiger Fact
Siberian Tiger Information
Snow Leopard
Snow Leopard Habitat
Snow Leopard Fact
Endangered Snow Leopard
White Tigers
White Bengal Tigers
White Siberian Tigers