White tigers may not adorn zoos anymore

GUWAHATI, July 17: In the aftermath of the recent Nandankanan Zoo tragedy, white tigers are likely be removed from all zoos across the country, said R Bhattacharyya, State Zoo DFO here yesterday. The DFO said that though no decision has been taken in this regard yet quarters concerned are toying with the idea as white tigers do not have any scientific value at all. The white tiger is born due to the elbino-genetic deformity for which it's resistance is lower than that of normal tigers. As the lineage of all white tigers in any zoo of the country can be traced directly or indirectly to one such tigers their resistance capacity dips with each successive breeding. This is because the Maharaja of Rewa in 1970 started first-ever commercial breeding of white tiger after he caught one such tiger and named it Mahan. He sold many of them to zoos and private collectors of the country and abroad. So white tigers in every subsequent breeding was confined to the same blood group and resistance level started going down even further. Of late, a new concept has evolved which considers the zoos exclusively as educational centres rather than a source of entertainment. This is gaining ground and so the white tigers which do not have any contribution in the educational front may be removed from zoos. Or if not removal, at least new breeding of the species might not be encouraged in near future. Its only attraction is its colour which attracts people in hordes. The State Zoo here also has a white tiger which was brought from the Delhi Zoo several years ago. With such low resistance capacity, these tigers can't survive in the wilderness also. Meanwhile, the DFO informed that as the state Zoo has been adopted by the Central Zoo authority (CZA), initial works on improvement of enclosures, and other facilities would be taken up in a few months' time. He also clarified that this zoo which is considered one of the largest in the country does not have the problem of overcrowding like many other zoos except in case of sambars. Armed with two veterinary doctors and other support staff, Bhattacharyya said the authorities are prepared to face any eventualities.