Shailah is by far our most interesting looking cat. Her differences are a direct result of inbreeding. The only way to obtain a white tiger is through inbreeding and that has the potential to come with a lot of birth defects. Thankfully, at this time, Shailah is doing well. She is an incredibly social cat who enjoys attention. She loves cooling off in her pool and attempting and succeeding at catching vultures!
Born September 26, 2018
Rescued May 19, 2021
How Shailah Came to the Sanctuary
Shailah is one of four big cats Carolina Tiger rescued from “Tiger King Park” in Thackerville, Oklahoma early summer of 2021. In total, 68 cats were rescued from this facility after it was shut down due to numerous Endangered Species Act violations. Due to the nature of the court case, we were unable to speak about them until now.
Personality
Shailah has the goofiest personality! She is always greeting volunteers and keepers who come to visit her. She loves to chase any vultures who dare to land in her enclosure, and is a massive fan of pawcasso enrichment. She loves to roll around and lick the non-toxic tempera paints, and lay in the sun with her tummy out when she's in need of a nap. There's not much that gets this tiger riled up. She's pretty laid back and always ready for a nap, but who can blame her for that.
Description
Shailah is a white tiger but differs in looks from our other white tiger, Saber. Shailah's stripes are a very light brown as opposed to Saber's stripes that are black. Though some say she looks like a liger (hybrid of a tiger and lion), none of the information she came with suggests that she is a liger.
Where in Sanctuary
Shailah is currently living off tour next to Mila and Riley Tiger.
Wild Born Animals
As beautiful as white tigers are, they are not a subspecies of tigers. The white gene comes from a mutated recessive gene that both parents must have for the offspring to potentially be white. White tigers have a long history in captivity; they are all inbred and all relatives of one another. Due to the many years of inbreeding, white tigers are born cross-eyed with a plethora of other deformities, including possible deafness, scoliosis, and epilepsy. When a breeder breeds for a white tiger, whether for cub petting, entertainment, or a roadside attraction, only 1 in every 30 is "show-worthy". The question then becomes what happens to the other 29? Carolina Tiger Rescue asks that you not support, directly or indirectly, facilities or entertainment venues that breed for white tigers.
Panthera Tigris
