[1]The Vandalur zoo, which has successfully bred more than half-a-dozen white tigers under captivity, expanded its tiger-breeding programme on Tuesday to now breed white tigers with normal ones, wildlife authorities at the Arignar Anna Zoologocal Park said.
This is prompted by fears of inbreeding and to enhance the quality of offspring.
The first pair of white tigers Bhismar and Anu, which arrived from Delhi zoo about four years ago has adapted well to the zoo conditions and has been breeding successfully.
The cubs raised from this pair have now attained sexual maturity and two females from the group Akansha and Namrutha have been selected for the breeding programme along with a male Bengal tiger named Vijay.
The three big cats are now kept in an enclosure and are being monitored, zoo sources said.
The offspring of this group will be called F 1 and would be like normal tigers and when they breed they have a 50 per cent chance of producing white tiger cubs.
The white tiger cubs are being bred with normal tigers to enhance the gene pool quality and ensure that there is no deformity or albino characters because of inbreeding, sources explained.
The zoo houses 12 tigers, including nine white tigers. Lion tailed macaque, reticulate and rock python, Indian Gaur and wild dogs are the prominent species that prolifically breed in Vandalur zoo.
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