Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has abruptly changed its stand on breeding and reintroduction of white tiger into wild habitats, apparently when no one had sought a fresh opinion. The WII now talks of new evidence that has compelled them to change their opinion.
Crux of the Matter
A few years ago, when asked whether white tigers should be bred with a view to rehabilitate them in Sanjay Tiger Reserve (part of the general habitat where white tigers were present till mid- Twentieth century), the WII had made it amply clear that the reintroduction of white tiger into natural habitat is not desirable as white tiger is not a separate sub-species of tiger, but only an aberration of the Royal Bengal Tiger and hence it has no conservation value.
The State Chief Wildlife Warden had then apprised the government of Madhya Pradesh and the project was abandoned.
The change of stance by the WII comes simultaneously with former Madhya Pradesh Chief Wildlife Warden H S. Pabla pitching for reintroduction of white tiger in Sanjay Tiger Reserve through a film scripted by him and produced by Anil Yadav titled “White Tiger: Extinction, Eternal Imprisonment or Freedom?”
The film “discusses the pros and cons” of reintroducing the white tiger into the forests of Madhya Pradesh from where the last white tiger (Mohan) was captured in 1951.
While supporting the reintroduction programme, they compare the white tigers to the melanistic tigers of Orissa that survives without any problem but they may be totally wrong in their assumption as till now no genetic study is available that unravels the mystery of Melanistic tigers of Orissa
In a recent letter to National tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the WII has floated the advice of screening captive white tiger for genetic purity and inbreeding of such tigers to get white offspring.
It is further advised that the white offspring would be trained for a life in the wild and released to fend for themselves.
Suhas Kumar, Former PCCF, Madhya Pradesh, Member Madhya Pradesh State Board for Wildlife, Member Chhattisgarh State Board for Wildlife, points out that the change in WII opinion endorsing an isolated research carried out by some Chinese and Korean scientists on white gene in Royal Bengal tiger clearly betrays professional propriety.
It is also his contention that the change in WII position might have been orchestrated by some vested interests who wish to earn tourism money from white tigers. He has no issue with such businessmen as long as they keep such manufactured white tigers in safaris and zoos.
Suhas goes on to add perhaps the WII scientists have forgotten that in the zoos in the entire world where ever the white tigers are present they are highly inbred and a store house of double recessive genes responsible for a myriad of diseases and deformities.
Curiopedia
The white tiger is a pigmentation variant of the Bengal tiger, which is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal and Bihar in the Sunderbans region and especially in the former State of Rewa in Madhya Pradesh, central India.Such a tiger has the black stripes typical of the Bengal tiger, but carries a white or near-white coat. Captive white tigers are of little known lineage. They are held captive around the world, usually for financial purposes. The Tiger Species Survival Plan devised by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has condemned the breeding of white tigers. Mohan was the founding father of the white tigers of Rewa. He was captured as a cub in 1951 by the Maharaja of Rewa. Over more than sixty years the progeny of Mohan were subjected to incessant inbreeding resulting in accumulation of undesirable traits. Such specimen should never be introduced in the wild, says Suhas Kumar, former PCCF Madhya Pradesh More Info
Curated Coverage
コメント