Colour Variations in Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)

Of late, tiger's (Panthera tigris tigris) coat pattern is considered to be of high academic significance because the pattern is phylogenetically closer to that of the clouded leopart (Neofelis nebulosa) and not the leopard (Panthera pardus). Therefore, Ewer (1973: 88) mentioned the stripes of tiger an anomaly for the genus Panthera, and Leyhausen et al. (1990: G-10) using other additional structural evidences, took a bold step in removing tiger from the genus Panthera and placing it as Neofelis tigris.

Records and reports indicate the natural existence of a range from complete white to complete black tigers through the intermediary shades, which are normally seen.

In this paper, we discuss the occurrence of color variations in tigers using data collected from the available literature and from Similipal Tiger Reserve, Orissa, India.

Tiger Without Stripes

A tiger's coat displays a combination of three colors—white, tawny, and black. "A wholly white tiger, with the stripe pattern visible only under reflected light, like the pattern of a white tabby cat, was exhibited in the Exeter Change Menagerie in the early part of the 19th century and described by Hamilton-Smith" (Pocock, 1939: 202). Sagar and Singh (1989) reported a "tiger without stripes" from Similipal Tiger Reserve, and cited similar information from another location in Similipal and one from Chitrakonda of Korput in Orissa.

White Tigers

The "white tigers" which caught the attention of the media in the 1980s after their birth to normal parents in Nandankanan Biological Park are actually white with visible stripes. The "white tigers" were also recorded in the wild during the Mughal Period from 1556 to 1605 AD (Divyabhanusinh, 1986). In such "white tigers," the stripes are are dark brown or reddish-black and stand out against the white ground color.

There were as many as 17 instances of white tigers recorded in India between 1907 and 1933 (Gee, 1954), and contrary to many contentions, such form did occur in more than one place in the wild—in Orissa, Bilaspur, Sohagpur, and Rewa (Pocock, 1939).

Normal Coloured Tigers

The normal "tawny base" of the coat of the species is also known to show variation in depth. Some tigers are light orange-red while others are deep. Such variations are often attributed to geography, forest habitat and perhaps the season as well. Nonetheless, this is the normal body color of the tiger.

Melanistic Tiger

The skin of a melanistic tiger was recovered from smugglers in October 1992 at Tis Hazari. The skin measured eight and a half feet (259 cm) and was displayed at the National Museum of Natural History, New Delhi, in February 1993 (Kumar, 1993). The source of the skin is not known.