Bengal tiger born with no stripes

A white Bengal tiger born without stripes is thought to be the only one of its kind to exist in the wild.

The six-month-old cub, named Fareeda, is so rare it is thought there are fewer than 20 tigers like her alive in the world—all in captivity.

Fareeda was born near Cape Town in South Africa, The Daily Telegraph reports. She is part of a unique breeding program to keep the White Bengal species alive.

Odette Claassen, who works at the Cango Wildlife Ranch, told the newspaper keepers were not sure at first if Fareeda would remain without her stripes.

“Some cubs develop stripes in their first few months but after six months it’s clear that Fareeda is truly one of the rarest of her kind,” she said.

“White Bengal tigers are not albino— they have distinctive blue eyes, and they used to be found in Northern India before they died out.”

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