The white tiger (also known as the Bengal tiger) is about 3 meters long, and weighs approximately 180-285 kg (400-569 LB). It’s coat lies flatter than that of the Siberian tiger,
the tawny color is richer and the stripes are darker. White tigers are white colored bengals, they are not albinos and they are not a separate subspecies of tigers.
They have blue eyes, a pink nose, and creamy white furr covered with chocolate colored stripes. White tigers are born to tigers that carry the unusual gene needed for white coloring. Wild white tigers are rare species.
The white color of white tigers can be attributed to a special pair of recessive genes on their chromosomes.
White Tigers have become quite common in Zoo's in the United States, Europe and Asia. This is due to a single white tiger imported from India. Since then especially private people and a few Zoo's have done a lot of breeding - and inbreeding - to promote the gene with the White Color.
They've even mixed White Bengal Tigers with the larger Siberian Tigers to get larger specimens to attract more people to see them.
Inbreeding leads to an increased homozygosity among those individuals affected by it which is harmful to them. Typically inbreeding leads to more unfit individuals. In the case of tigers this is that individuals are much worse at doing things normal (not inbreed) tigers are capable of.
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