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The white tigers are in fact mostly white, with black stripes. They are ordinary Bengal tigers* (Panthera tigris tigris)that have acquired a recessive gene for albinism, or lack of skin pigment. Rather than affect the entire skin, it only affects the portions that would be tiger orange, making the tiger's markings monochromatic.

The tigers are very rare, and normally produced by the excessive inbreeding of small tiger populations in a secluded region.

*The so-called "white Siberian tigers" are actually crossbreeds of Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) with white Bengals.

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13y ago

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