Rare white tiger cub not for display

The birth of a rare white tiger cub in Chittagong Zoo has attracted much attention of the media but the zoo authorities have decided not to display the cub right now.

The cage of the cub and its family has been covered by black curtains so that the visitors cannot irritate the family, said zoo officials.

Royal Bengal tiger couple Raj and Pari gave birth to three cubs on 19 July. Of them, one died accidentally one day after its birth. The rest two, however, are doing well, said zoo officials.

The dead one was also white, they added.

Acting curator of the zoo, Shahadat Hossain said, <DBL-QTS>As far we know, there is no white tiger in Bangladesh.<DBL-QTS>

Eminent wildlife expert professor Monirul H Khan of Jahangirnagar University<SNG-QTS>s zoology department told Prothom Alo that the birth of a white cub is an exceptional incident.

The white tiger might have been born with white pigmentation due to genetic factor, he added.

Raj and Pari were bought from South Africa in December, 2016.