Golden tiger

One of the endangered species

A golden tiger is one with an extremely rare color variation caused by a recessive gene that is currently only found in captive tigers.

The animal is extraordinarily rare, with global estimates from the World Wildlife Fund hovering around 30 in the year 2011. All known golden tigers live in captivity, usually in wildlife refuges or parks. Zoos rarely house them, in part because of how scarce they are.

The golden tiger’s coat is a blend of white, cream, and pale orange fur. Its stripes are typically rust-colored. There are currently believed to be fewer than 30 of these rare tigers in the world. The hope is that someday they will regenerate enough to be more widely distributed or, perhaps, even re-released into the wild.

They eat the same food as usual tigers. When they roamed in the wild, golden tigers were often believed to carry magical or mystical qualities. They were the subject of legend and lore throughout much of Asia, but most notably in India and China. These tigers were always rare to begin with, but decreased rapidly in population in large part because of hunting and poaching. Pelts from a golden tiger fetched much higher prices than those of ordinary black and orange tigers, and were prized by emperors and rajahs.