Pertinax -- agree with your objection to using the term 'hybrid' for animals that just can't be assigned to a subspecies. Much better to keep it for a cross between two species. Thus, a Liger is a hybrid; Diamond is a subspecifically impure Tiger. I'm afraid poor old Diamond looks particularly like a gigantic pussy, because he is neutered.....
For many years Longleat had a group of three tigers, golden tabby male with white and normal ['orange'] females. They actually looked very good as a group.
Dear old Diamond didn't come from Longleat (at least directly), he and his twin Aysha (who is mostly normal-coloured) were born at Dublin. The colour morph doesn't have a causal relationship with any Amur/Bengal crossing, that's rather a red herring - although Diamond & Aysha fall into the expected 'generic' Bengal tiger category (i.e. a zoo mixture of probably Amur & Bengal).
The 'tabby' gene has been referred to as a 'wide band' gene - it gives a wide band of colour on each hair producing tabby 'splodges' rather than classic tiger stripes. It has often been associated with the white gene in captive tigers, but the genetic locus is different as far as I know (the white gene is a colour inhibitor). As such, white parents are not needed to produce 'tabbies' - I think Diamond & Aysha's parents were both orange, but I could be wrong on this point. A carrier of the white gene plus the wide band will be a stripeless white tiger.
As for Diamond's temperament, he's a big pussycat most of the time, but he's definitely a TIGER at feeding time!
Thanks for the info Panthera Puss.
I think Diamond looks beautiful, mind you I am a big cat lover
My niece as just said sitting next to me just because it's different doesn't make it ugly
Thanks for the info Panthera Puss.
I think Diamond looks beautiful, mind you I am a big cat lover
My niece as just said sitting next to me just because it's different doesn't make it ugly
Some 'tabbies' ('leucistic' is a more accepted phrase) are ugly, but I agree with your niece that Diamond is a beautiful boy, as well as a devoted brother to his twin sister!
