The origin of white tigers may not be what you think. These majestic creatures don’t exist in the wild, but are rather descendants of a single, pale tiger cub stolen from its mother in the 1950s. Since then, the tigers have been bred together to produce the signature color.
In 2000, a white tiger named Kenny was rescued from a private breed in Arkansas. The breeder kept Kenny in filth, and had been unable to find a buyer for the animal because of several obvious deformities caused by generations of inbreeding. Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge was called in to assist with the rescue.
“The gentleman that we rescued him from said he would constantly run his face into the wall,” Emily McCormack, animal curator for Turpentine Creek, said. “But it was clear that that wasn’t the situation.”
Kenny doesn’t even look like a tiger, with his short snout and broad face. Another tiger found at the same location has permanently crossed eyes. In fact, at this point all white tigers have crossed optic nerves, whether their eyes looked crossed or not.
Kenny and the other tiger were taken to the sanctuary, where they were nursed back to health. It wasn’t long until Kenny was enjoying his new life, playing with a favorite toy and interacting with the other rescues. While Kenny had a short life, passing away at 10 years old, it was, in the end, a happy life.
Watch the video below to see Zabu, another white tiger, in slow motion. What did you think? Leave us a comment, we’d love to hear from you!
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