When you speak of the former princely state of Rewa, invariably you will hear the words ‘white tigers’. Do the jungles of Rewa somehow have a large population of white tigers? The answer is a little more complicated than that. It was in 1951, when Maharaja Martand Singh (the last maharaja of Rewa), heard about a white tiger cub while hunting in the jungles of Bandhavgarh. The cub was captured and such was the fascination with these remarkable-looking felines that it kick-started the process of specifically breeding tigers to produce more of the white specimens.
Mohan, the ancestor of all white tigers in captivity today, was raised in the royal palace in Govindgarh. A long process of breeding was carried out with specific tigresses carrying the white gene and this resulted in a considerable line of white tigers, which are today in various zoos in India and abroad. It must be noted that white tigers are not a different species of tiger – these are Bengal tigers aka Panthera tigris tigris. Another misconception is that they are albino; however, this is not the case. A minuscule percentage of the tiger population (0.001%) carries this recessive gene controlling coat colour.
The in-breeding of white tigers resulted in genetic defects and is generally disapproved of by
conservationists today.
Much information about the white tigers is available at these places.
Baghel Museum
Address: Rewa Fort, Uprahti, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh
Timings: 10am to 5pm
Entry Fees: INR15
The museum displays the stuffed head of Mohan, the ancestor of all white tigers at the park, as well
as a lot of information about the geneology of the line.
Maharaja Martand Singh Judeo White Tiger Safari and Zoo
Address: Panna Khajuraho Rd, Mukundpur, Satna, Madhya Pradesh; Tel: 083190 48432
Timings: 9.30am to 4.30pm (November to February), 9am to 5pm (March to October); Wednesdays
Closed
Entry Fees: INR20 for entry; INR100 for safari
The White Tiger Safari and Zoo also has two white tigers in a 25 hectare enclosure. There is also an
information centre with many details of the decades-long breeding project.