Blonde By Nature

Odin is a 10ft long, 6 and a 1/2 year old Bengal tiger, with a genetic mutation that removes the pigmentation from his normally orange coat leaving it white with black strips. His eyes are ice-blue, his nose is blossom-pink, his skin is warm-grey and he loves to swim.

Swimming is natural for a tiger, however, it is very difficult to capture this footage for obvious reasons. Lee Munro is Odin’s handler – who has been his trainer since he was weaned – sought to showcase the tiger’s ability and has done just that; Odin happily embraces his 2 million year old natural instinct and enjoys a good underwater dive frequently (albeit a bribed swim). You can see him in action here.

A few facts about tigers and water:

• Tigers are great swimmers and can actually master a kill in water
• They can dive quite deep when food is involved
• They can swim for roughly 3 miles without taking a rest
• Tigers close their nostrils and fold their ears back as they dive to prevent water from entering
• They learn how to swim from their elders (Odin learned from Kuma)
• Tigers lounge in water neck deep as a way to cool off
• A group of tigers is called a streak or ambush (not water related, just thought you’d find that interesting)

Odin and his streak live at the Six Flags Zoo in Vallejo, California. Fortunately, California is 1 of 19 states that ban private tiger ownership, whereas 15 require a license the remaining 16 states have no legislation at all. The estimation is that there is 12,000 tiger-pets in the US whereas the rest of the world there is 4,000. Don’t like that number? Then go here to check out your states ruling and here to see how you can take action.

I just love rare white beasts. You can check out The White Lion post for another unique beauty.

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