The so-called golden variety is the most common color change caused by a recessive gene. The first mention of the encounter with the golden tigers in the wild is dated to the beginning of the 20th century. It was originally a theory that emerged in a small group of tigers living in areas rich in clay soils, and an unusual color served as an additional camouflage for hunting. The theory remains unsubstantiated. However, the inbreeding of a small isolated group of tigers could inflict on the appearance of this type of color if one of the tigers, carriers of the recessive gene of the golden color, crossed with their own offspring, as was the case in captivity. At the moment in captivity contains about 30 individuals with this type of color.
Like the white tigers, all the captive gold tigers are of predominantly Bengali origin, but genetically "polluted" by the genes of a partially Amur white tiger named Tony, who is the common ancestor of almost all white tigers in North America. The assumption that this coloring appeared by crossing Amur and Bengal tigers is a common misconception.
The tiger has a known mutation that leads to the appearance of individuals with completely white coloring - Bengal tigers with black-brown stripes on white fur and blue eyes. This coloration is very rare among wild animals, but is relatively common in captive populations. The frequency of appearance of white tigers is one individual per 10,000 with normal coloring.
White tigers breed excellently in captivity. The first mention of them is attributed to 1951, when one of the hunters took a tigress from a tiger's den found by him. Subsequently, this tiger was crossed with a female of ordinary color, which gave birth to four cubs of ordinary color. Later, a white tiger was crossed with one of his white daughters, who had three tigers, two of which were white.
All captive white tigers are descendants of one individual. Now in the zoos of the world contains about 130 white tigers. And although on their skin clearly visible dark stripes, one of the misconceptions is the view that white tigers are albinos.
