White Tiger In India

Multiple sightings of the white tiger, a colour variant of Panthera tigris tigris, from central India to Assam have been reported1. White or partially white tigers are not uncommon in some of the dry open jungles of central India Authentic records of white tiger from India include the report of the first white tiger that reached England in 1820 and was exhibited alive in the Exeter Change (Exchange) menagerie at the tower of London. A second one was killed at Poona about 1892. In March 1899, a white tiger was shot in Upper Assam and the skin was sent to Calcutta.

These reports are found in the Game Animals of India. A record of a white tiger from Poona was published in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London in 1891. Shooting of awhite tigress was also reported in the Indian Forester, May 1909. Records of cases of white tigers of the last 50 years prior to 1959 in the diaries of Rewa including a two-year-old male captured in December 1915 are available.A description of this tiger appeared in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. It recorded not less than 17 white tigers shot in India between 1907 and 1933. A white tiger that was shot in the Bilaspur District of the then Central Province at about 6 years prior to 1916 was also described6. E. P. Gee recorded accounts of 35 white tigers from the wild up to 1959. Thus, shooting of white tiger was common between 1892 and 1922 in Orissa, Upper Assam, Bilaspur, Cooch Behar and Poona.

The history of white tiger in India can be traced in some of the paintings, which were drawn and recorded after 27 years of an incident in 1561 AD . However, the earliest authentic report of shooting of a white tiger in India is stated to be in 1907. Reports of white tigers in Assam are available. In Sivasagar District, Upper Assam, there is a tea estate called ‘Bogabagh’ meaning ‘white tiger’ in Assamese, and refers to two white tigers found there in the early 1900s.

Also, a report exists of the killing of a white tiger in Assam in March 1851. The unnoticed report is a much earlier record of the killing of a white tiger in India. According to The Orunodoi, a white tiger was beaten to death in Dibrugarh District, Assam and its head and skin were brought to ‘Shrijut Doctor Sharlok Sahab’. The fur of the tiger was long and completely white without any spots10. The report is also supplemented with a drawing of the tiger. This may be the earliest authentic report of killing of a white tiger in India.

As a signatory of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001), the Indian Government was compelled to restrict the production and use of industrial chemicals and pesticides. However, the present situation is not encouraging. This may be due to the following reasons: Lack of awareness, information and education about chemical hazards and international treaties related to chemicals. Higher rate of illiteracy plays a major role in this context. Absence of regulatory mechanisms to monitor chemical production and disposal. Lack of a database to measure chemical impacts on health and environment. Lack of on-site disaster management plan in small-scale and medium-sized chemical industry.

With respect to legislation regarding chemical management, India is well placed. In such a large country like India with its diverse spectrum of chemical manufacturing and consumption, laying of legislation is not an easy task. Proper execution is also required. This can be achieved by educating the people about chemicals and their impact on health and environment. Proper knowledge about pesticides and their effects on groundwater can prevent groundwater contamination. Increment of the inter-industry interaction and collaboration in discussing emerging scenarios after chemical release, environmental impacts, expectation, and roles and resources pooling will prevent on-site chemical disaster. The thrust areas should be groundwater quality, chemical residue in food, public and occupational health, storage and disposal of obsolete chemicals, chemical poisoning and chemical accident during transportation.