The white tiger is a Bengal tiger born with a rare pigment mutation, whose wild habitat ranges from western India to China and southeastern Asia although less than a dozen wild white tigers have been seen in the last 100 years. The color variant of the white tiger was first recognized in the early 19th century and occurs naturally in one in 10,000 births.
There are only about 5,000 to 7,400 tigers living in the wild due to poaching and loss of wild habitat areas. Because of the white tiger’s rarity in the wild, most live in captivity in zoos. White tigers can live up to 15 years in the wild, while their lifespan in captivity is between 16 and 20 years.
