Chennai zoo’s white tiger gives birth to rare ‘black’ cubs

The nine-year-old female has been a resident of the zoological park since birth and sired with male Nagulan in January, after which the litter of three was born. One cub takes after the mother and is white or ‘bleached’ while the others appear black as they have darker stripes than normal tiger cubs. “In the past, an albino melanistic cub was born in the zoo but this is the first time we are seeing the two tawny melanistic cubs,” confirms Sudha Ramen IFS, Deputy Director, Arignar Anna Zoological Park.

“Melanistic or ‘black’ tigers are a rare variant in the species and can be distinguishes by stripes that are so thick and close together that the tawny background is barely visible. It is caused when the amount of melanin pigments is high,” explains Dr Manoharan, a wildlife veterinarian. “It doesn’t affect the animal’s health in any way because it is just another genetic characteristic, like a human having curly hair.” Since their birth, the black tiger cubs were kept them under observation to monitor their health and behaviour. Once everything was declared normal after following protocol, the zoo officials decided to display them. “When people come to visit these animals, a sincere request is that they maintain discipline,” says Sudha.

Wildlife filmmaker Kalyan Varma said, this phenomenon is quite uncommon. “As far as I know, a similar instance was witnessed in the Similipal Tiger Reserve, Odisha, long ago when a trap camera recorded a mother and her cubs.”

Odisha’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Wildlife Sandeep Tripathi says the State is the only one in the country that is home to melanistic tigers. Back in 2006, the state housed about 45, and in 2015, the count was down to 28. Reports have emerged of their existence in the jungles of Odisha since the 1990s.