Montana in Southern California
Jan 6, 01:40 PM

Montana is a Bengal tiger who lives at the wildlife way station. For several years now the Wildlife Way station has not been open to the public. On a number of occasions I have had the rare opportunity to go sketch and sculpt wildlife there. It is a unique place where forgotten and abused animals are remembered and saved. Most of the big cats in Martine Collette’s collection were used in the movie business, the exotic pet trade and some are even byproducts from zoos.

One of these big cats is named Montana. He is a beautiful white tiger. Many confuse white tigers with Siberian or Amur tigers because of their snowy white fur. Even though Siberian tigers live in the snow they are never white. So what is a white tiger then a Bengal, Sumatran? The truth is none of those; he is a mutant, the result of two recessive genes forced together by an inbred family tree. The patriarch of this manipulated family tree was a Bengal tiger named Mohan. Around 1951 he was captured as a cub and lived the life of a coddled palace pet in Rewa India. Since he was and is the only wild caught white tiger, the inbreeding began to try force out the mutation more consistently. Like dog breeders have done to artificially navigate the appearance of a species, the white recessive gene was strategically bred, or inbred to produce more white tigers.

sculpting at the way station. The tiger in the background of the photo is not Montana, by then Montana had moved out of view

Drawing and sculpting Montana is a real treat he is a stunning animal. His is larger than most Bengal tigers and sits regally in his enclosure. After completing a few paintings I began sculpting a rough bust of Montana. I finished this piece later in my studio. His beautiful white coat with chocolate stripes is caused by a mutant gene called a recessive allele. Essentially it is a partial albinism giving him the whiteness and a pink nose and sparing the eyes and stripes. The eyes of Montana and all white tigers are a stunning blue.

The majority of white tigers in America were bred at one zoo in Cincinnati. One tigress named Sumita delivered twenty-five live born white cubs at the zoo or tiger-mill. Tiger cubs are so cute and draw in so much money that there have been irresponsible “puppy mill” zoos that have cranked out cubs irresponsibly just to keep admissions up. What could the problem be, tigers are endangered right?

skeletal & facial deformities are just some of the common maladies associated with White Tigers

Yes all tigers are endangered, and they need all the help they can get. But to scientists white tigers are mutants. They have been bred as if they were a boutique pet and money maker not for conservation. Ed Maruska who was the director of the Cincinnati Zoo for 39 years openly admitted his motivations for breeding white tigers:

“It’s marketing. It’s popularity. It’s a major source of income for continuing other programs here at the zoo.” Ed Maruska former zoo director

Surplus cubs were sold regularly by zoos for up to $60,000 each. With a shallow captive gene pool, irresponsible breeders have produced inbred animals full of chronic maladies. Sumita, the aforementioned, mother of twenty-five was bred with Bhim another white tiger who also was her brother. Once the cubs out grow their cuteness they have a hard time finding a home. Most aren’t “show worthy” for zoos and so they are sold as pets or discarded. Martine Collette has done her upmost to rescue as many as she can.

If any zoo has a white tiger (beautiful as they may be) you can be sure that they are more concerned with looks and money than they are about biodiversity. Most white tigers because of their inbreeded history are not ideal genetic parents, but they make a lot of money. Their chronic maladies brought on by a shallow gene pool include: strabismus (cross-eyed), skeletal & reproductive deformities, stillbirths. These beautiful mutants with all of their maladies are expensive to treat prohibitive to most.

Montana’s conditions are not only genetic, his previous owners had him de-clawed making it difficult for him to walk about his enclosure. When a cat or especially a big cat is declawed it is really an amputation of the top digit joints. In this condition Montana struggles to walk, let alone climb or jump. He is very good natured and is used as an ambassador in public photo and fundraising events for the Way station.

Though most reputable zoos no longer breed white tigers there are many who continue to do so. Many do it under the guise of conservation. Dr. Ron Tilson manager of the Tiger Species Survival Plan said the following about white tigers and zoos that breed them:
“White tigers are an aberration artificially bred and proliferated by some zoos, private breeders and a few circuses who do so for economic rather than conservation reasons.”
It is nice to know that Martine and all of her staff work around the clock to save animals that are the unfortunate byproduct of reckless zoos, collectors, trainers and animal traffickers. A special thanks to Martine Collette for allowing me to visit the way station and also to Alyson who educated and guided me through the way station.

Sources:

White Tigers of Cincinnati- by David Quamen
bigcatrescue.org
http://www.exoticcatz.com/sptigerwhite.html

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