A white tiger at the Moscow Zoo, Moscow, Russia

A white tiger is actually a…?. A white tiger at the Moscow Zoo, Moscow, Russia

Though there have been documented accounts of white tigers in the wild, they are extremely rare. This may be because white tigers—really Bengal tigers with missing pigmentation in their fur—are often born with birth defects that would decrease their survival rate in nature. Today, white tigers seen by humans are residents of zoos or exotic animal exhibits. Captive white tigers are somewhat controversial, as the mutation is rare enough that many white tigers on display are the result of careful breeding.