Hyderabad: The Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad wants to bring tigers from Nandankanan in Odisha to breed with its own tigers.
Warned that inbreeding between siblings, can lead to depression and genetic anomalies in tigers, particularly white tigers, the zoo is on a mission to infuse new bloodlines into its tiger stock.
Shivani Dogra, curator of the Nehru Zoological Park, said, “We are working to bring tigers from Nandankanan in Odisha to change the bloodline of the tigers in Nehru Zoo. We need to have genetic diversity otherwise breeding between siblings may lead to problems.”
The zoo has about 20 tigers. After the death of a six-year-old pregnant white tigress, experts had warned that inbreeding in captivity would not only result in genetic anomalies, but also shorten the life span of the tigers.
Osmania University professor and zoologist Dr C Srinivasulu said inbreeding in captivity resulted in ‘homozygosity’, whereby recessive genes become dominant.
“Due to this they suffer physiological and morphological disorders. They die young as life expectancy decreases and they are susceptible to diseases and other conditions. The Central Zoo Authority maintains a registry of lineage of tigers which will be used to find distant blood lines.”
White tigers are born due to a genetic condition called Chediak-Higashi Syndrome (oculocutaneous albinism) and are much sought after by zoos.
Wildlife activist Devidas Manghnani said, “White tigers born to North American lines have ‘bulldog’ faces. In Delhi zoo cubs were born with arched backs and clubbed feet.”
