Snow white tiger cub who only has stripe markings on her tail

Fareeda is a snow white tiger cub who only has stripe markings on her tail






A beautiful rare snow white Bengal tiger doesn't have to earn her stripes because she was born without them.

The playful six-month-old cub called Fareeda is so unusual none of her kind exist in the wild today and she is the first-ever to be born in Africa.

Her parents Geena and Shiva are both white Bengal tigers and carry the gene for white colouring.

But while mum, dad, brother Shahir and sister Sitarah all bear the typical black tiger stripes, Fareeda was born without them at odds of 100 to one.


Fareeda, who was hand-reared by keepers at Cango Wildlife Ranch, near Cape Town, South Africa, is part of a unique breeding programme to keep the White Bengal species alive. Currently several hundred live in captivity around the world.

Keepers at the ranch were delighted when Fareeda and her siblings were born on Christmas Day last year, but even more surprised to see Fareeda's rare lack of markings. It is thought there are less than 20 tigers like Fareeda alive in the world today.


Odette Claassen, 52, from Cango Wildlife Ranch, said the keepers had to wait six months before they could be sure Fareeda definitely did not have stripes.

She said: 'Some cubs develop stripes in their first few months but after six months it's clear that Fareeda is truly one of the rarest of her kind.

When she was born Fareeda had noticeably pale colour it did cause a stir of excitement amongst the staff.

But we knew there was the possibility of the cub's very light black and ginger stripes darkening over time existed.
Most white Bengal tigers are bred in the US from a single male captured in India in the 1950s, but Fareeda is the first to be born in Africa, which is very special.

She has a lovely nature and loves playing with her brothers and sisters, although she has nipped me a few times when she wants a feed.