What practices necessitate mating closely related animals when maintaining white tigers in captivity?
Answer
To ensure the rare recessive coat color gene is reliably inherited
Because the gene causing the white coat (*SLC45A2*) is rare and recessive, both parents must possess it for a white cub to be produced. In a captive setting where the goal is the consistent production of this specific aesthetic trait, breeders often must resort to mating closely related individuals, such as brother to sister or father to daughter, to concentrate the desired gene in the gene pool. This method bypasses the low probability of two unrelated carriers meeting naturally, but it carries the significant ethical and genetic cost of severe inbreeding.
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