(July 6) -- Fareeda is one cool cat. The white Bengal tiger cub was born without stripes.
Fareeda astonished her keepers when she was born on Christmas Day 2008 without traditional markings, but they knew stripes could still appear as she aged. Now, at over 6 months old, Fareeda isn't expected to develop them, the Daily Mail reported.
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The cub is thought to be one of fewer than 20 white Bengal tigers in the world today without stripes, and all the others live in captivity. Fareeda is part of a breeding program in Cape Town, South Africa, aimed to increase the endangered species and eventually return them to the wild.
Fareeda was part of a three-cub litter, but both of her siblings have stripes, as do her mother and father. The odds of Fareeda being born without stripes are 100 to 1, according to the Daily Mail.
"Most white Bengal tigers are bred in the U.S. from a single male captured in India in the 1950s, but Fareeda is the first to be born in Africa, which is very special," Cango Wildlife Ranch employee Odette Claassen said.
There are currently only a few hundred white Bengal tigers alive in captivity worldwide.
"It's clear that Fareeda is truly one of the rarest of her kind," said Claassen.
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Animals in the News
Chanel, a white dachshund who held the Guinness world record for oldest dog, died Aug. 28 at age 21. Earlier this year, her owners said she was in good health, with the exception of sunglasses she had to wear for cataracts.
Meredith Daniels, Newsday / MCT
Meredith Daniels, Newsday / MCT
