White tigers are very rare, but this particular tiger is even more special. It is a “pale” tiger, not a white tiger.
White tigers are an exceedingly rare species, but the tiger recently photographed by Indian photographer Nilanjan Ray is even more unique. Experts predict that this tiger is “one of a kind” in the wild.
Why is that? Because this tiger is not truly white. It is neither a white tiger nor an albino, but has a coat that is a light color resembling a mix of “pale” white and orange. Such individuals are referred to as “pale tigers”, and they are extremely rare in nature.
This tiger is not truly white.
In fact, it has been decades since a pale tiger was last spotted. Nilanjan Ray reported that he saw the tiger while driving through the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
“We were driving slowly along that road when we spotted a tiger that seemed ‘white’ sitting on a hillside. We watched it, and it seemed to watch us back,” Ray recounted.
“It looked very cute, curious rather than scary or aggressive. Then another tiger—one with the normal orange color—suddenly appeared very close to our car.”
They approached the car, allowing Ray to observe the tiger more closely and take several photos. He noted that its size indicated that it was not yet fully grown.
According to biologists, a ‘pale tiger’ is neither a white tiger nor an albino, but has some distinct differences.
This tiger is called a pale tiger.
Some studies indicate that there is a mutated gene that has caused their fur to change color, but which specific gene is responsible remains unknown due to the rarity of these individuals.
The last known pale tiger spotted in the wild was in the 1980s, documented by Belinda Wright, the founder of the Wildlife Protection Society of India. However, Wright noted that the tiger from that sighting was not as “pale” as this one.
