Colour Variations in Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
by B. C. Prusty, reprinted with permission from
Zoos' Print, vol. 11 no. 9, September
1996.
 Introduction
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) mentione 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 colour 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 colours—white, tawny, and black.
"A wholly white tiger, with the stripe pattern visible ony uder
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
colour 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.
Melanistic Tigers of Similipal
 Similipal Tiger Reserve is situated
in the district of Mayurbhanj, Orissa, India. It lies between
86°5' and 86°37' east longitude and between 21°30' and
22°8' north latitude. Beginning in1975–1976 a number of
sightings of black tigers have occurred in Similipal Tiger
Reserve.
Observation
1993: On 21 July 1993, around 10 a.m., a boy, in self-defense,
killed a young melanistic tigress with a bow and arrows. The
incident occurred in the village of Podagad in the Bhandan river valley
west of Similipal Tiger Reserve. The main peculiarity in body
colouration was that the dorsal stripes were tawny and the ventral
stripes white on a black background [or the black stripes were
wider than the orange dorsal and white ventral backgrounds, ed.].
The animal was photographed (Figures 1–3) and
videotaped.
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