An extremely rare colouration, caused by a recessive gene is that of the golden tiger, also known as the golden tabby, golden Bengal, or strawberry tiger. No official name has been designated for the colour.The golden tiger's white coat and gold patches make it stand out from the normale tigers. Their striping is much paler than usual and may fade into spots or large prominent patches. Golden tigers also tend to be larger and, due to the effect of the gene on the hair shaft, have softer fur than their orange relatives.There are currently believed to be fewer than 30 - 50 golden tigers in captivity.Golden tigers may occur in the same litter as stripeless or nearly stripeless tigers. This is due to the effect of the wide-band gene on the normal orange colour and the white colour respectively. The wide band mutation is not only found in white tigers and may also be carried by normal coloured tigers,In the wild, the white and tabby genes only show up naturally in one of every 10,000 tigers.The carriers of the wide band gene are probably no longer found in the wild.The suggestion that this colouration is caused through the deliberate breeding of Amur tigers with Bengals is a popular myth.This type of tiger became extinct in the wild in 1932 when the last two were shot in Mysore Padesh, They have been reintroduced into existence in 1987 India.
The first golden tiger cub born in captivity was in 1983 and this came from standard-colored Bengal tigers, both of whom carried the recessive genes for both the golden tiger and white colors. It was born at Dr. Josip Marcan's Adriatic Animal Attractions in Deland, Florida.
Probably the best documented birth of a golden tabby occurred on the 23rd October 1998 at Dreamworld Australia. Here,The birth of four cubs Samara, a normal orange tigress, had been mated with nearly-stripeless white male, Mohan. Her litter included one normal orange cub (Sultan), the first white tiger born in Australia (Taj, also nearly stripeless) and the first two tabby-colored tigers (male Rama and female Sita) born in Australia. The cubs weighed around 1.5 kilograms and measured approximately 30 centimeters in length. They were removed from their mother soon after birth and hand raised. The births and hand-raising process were filmed and presented in an hour long documentary.
In the wild India has records of wild golden tigers which date back as far as the early 1900s. There have been suggestions that the tendency for this coloration gradually developed in a small group of tigers living in an area of heavy clay concentration. The unusual color would provide these tigers with extra camouflage. The theory remains unproven, however, inbreeding of a small isolated group of tigers could cause the recessive golden tabby gene to emerge if at least one of those tigers carried the recessive gene for the golden color and bred with its own offspring (as has happened in captivity).
Weight: Males: 440-650 lbs Females: 220 to 400 lbs
Size: 5-6 ft long
Tail: Between 2-3 ft.
Speed: 49 - 65 mph
Lifespan: Tigers generally live up to 15 years in the wild (25 in captivity)
Numbers: 30 - 50 World Wide
Although a few golden tigers have been recorded in the wild, they are a mutation, not a separate species. It is incorrect to say there are "only 30 golden tigers left in the world."
Golden tabby tigers can carry the recessive gene for white tigers and when two such tigers are mated can produce a white stripeless cub.
An example of a golden tiger is in Dream World in Australia. Samara, a normal orange tigress, had been mated with nearly-stripeless white male tiger, Mohan. Her litter included one normal orange cub (Sultan), the first white tiger born in Australia (Taj, also nearly stripeless), and the first two tabby-colored tigers (male Rama and female Sita) born in Australia. The cubs weighed around 1.5 kilograms and measured approximately 30 centimetres in length. They were removed from their mother soon after birth and hand raised. The births and hand-raising process were filmed and presented in an hour long documentary. Golden tabby Sita will be mated to an unrelated normal orange tiger called Kato.Rama was age 19 when he passed the last surviving member of one of four tiger cubs born in 1998 at Dreamworld’s Tiger Island as part of the ‘Awesome Pawsome’, the park’s first litter.The beloved big cat is the second tiger to pass away at Dreamworld back in 2017 after his sibling, Sita, lost her battle with kidney failure earlier in May at age 18. The Gold Coast theme park Dreamworld is celebrating the birth of two tiger cubs.The two female cubs were born on January 24 2018 to the park's 14-year-old tiger Nika.The cubs have been named Melati and Mya.
-Europe-Diamond, a male golden tiger, is housed at the Isle of Wight Zoo in the UK. Because he is inseparable from his normal coloured sister, who also carries the golden gene, Diamond was castrated to prevent inbreeding. Glasgow Zoo's golden tiger, Butu, obtained from Longleat, went to Germany when Glasgow Zoo closed. Longleat in the UK previously had an elderly golden tiger named Sonar, but he died in 2006. In Autumn 2010, a golden tabby tiger, Shami, was born in a zoo in ZOOPARK in Næstved, Denmark. It's the first of its kind to be born in Scandinavia, and only the third in Europe. In May 2012, two more golden tabby tigers were born at the ZOOPARK.
-North America-A young, female golden tabby named "Sitarra" is owned by the St. Augustine Wild Reserve, a big cat sanctuary in North Florida. Two golden tabbies are also found at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey: A male, Kingda Ka, who has a roller coaster named after him, and his half-sister Raina. These tigers are part of the family that appears in daily educational award-winning shows about these specific tigers. T.I.G.E.R.S., which performs at King Richard's Faire in Carver M.A and elsewhere, also has golden tabby tigers. One of T.I.G.E.R.S.'s golden tabby tigers, Ramu, is on loan to the Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, North Dakota. Taj, another golden tabby resides at the Cougar Zoological Park in Issaquah, WA. Another golden tabby can be found at the Buffalo Zoo. Topaz is a permanent resident at the Catty Shack ranch, a wildlife sanctuary, in Jacksonville, FL and another golden tabby, a female named Shammi, can be found at Safari's Wildlife Sanctuary in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. There are three tabby tigers found at Miami's Jungle . There are four tabbies in Dallas-Fort Worth Area - Arula, Kumari, & Kahil at Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge (Tyler, Tx) and Tyjar at In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue Center (Wylie, Tx) . The Exotic Feline Center in Center Point, IN, also has a golden tabby tiger named Sahib.Octagon Wildlife Sanctuary in Punta Gorda, FL has a golden tabby named Kashmire. Wisconsin's Valley of the King's animal sanctuary is home to two named Assam (died in 2013) and Jasmine. Zoo of Acadiana in Broussard, LA also has two golden Bengal tiger cubs named Filé and Gumbo. There is also a 3 month old Golden Tabby tiger cub at T.I.G.E.R.S Preserve, Myrtle Beach, SC.(May 2013)
-Asia-A young golden tabby named as "Mish Mish" is found in Ras Al Khaimah wildlife Park, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, owned by Mr Jasem Ali.Though golden tabby tigers are not deliberately bred for by conservation-minded zoos, they have joined the white tiger in becoming popular for use in stage shows and similar events. A few private breeders are attempting to produce golden tabby tigers alongside white tigers to meet the demand.
