IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group Library

IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library

View printer friendly
Divyabhanusinh,
The earliest record of a white tiger (Panthera tigris)
1986 Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (83 (Suppl.)): 163-165
Mutant "white" tigers are a fairly well documented phenomenon in India. This journal has recorded no less than 17 instances of "white" tigers being shot in India between 1907 and 1933 (Gee 1954), i.e. in a period of 16 years only. Several other instances are recorded of sightings and trophies of :such animals as well The most famous and recent case being that of Mohan the great while patriarch of Rewa, whose descendants stock the zoos the world over. There has been only one recorded instance of true albino tigers. this is of two cubs shot in Coach Bihar in 1922. (Narayan 1922). The earliest known record of a "white" tiger however is that of the Mughal period and more precisely of the year 1561 AD. Emperor Akbar who ruled from 1556 A.D. to :1605 A.D.. caused his life and times to be recorded by his trusted courtier Abul Fazl. His "Akhar Nama" became a detailed account of the Emperor's reign.
	PDF files are only accessible to Friends of the Cat Group. Joining Friends of the Cat Group gives you unlimited access and downloads in the Cat SG Library for one year, and allows you to receive our newsletter Cat News (2 regular issues per year plus special issues). More information how to join here