Bengaluru based wildlife photographer captures rare pale tiger in Nilgiris

The picture of an incredibly rare pale skinned tiger, which was clicked last week by a wildlife photographer from Bengaluru who chanced upon the creature during his visit to the Nilgiri biosphere reserve in Tamil Nadu last week, is now going viral on the internet.

Nilanjan Ray, an MBA graduate from IIM Calcutta, who took a sabbatical from his corporate life, a few years ago to pursue his passion for wildlife & nature photography, was credited with the discovery after his photographs were cross-verified by wildlife experts. But not before being dismissed as a fake by self-proclaimed experts on Facebook.

Like many other wildlife photographers routinely do, on July 2, Ray decided to post his picture on the Sanctuary Asia Facebook page. Soon after, a debate ensued amongst the visitors of the page.

Several people discredited the image as a fake by arguing that the beast in the photograph is an albino tiger/ aka white tiger or a cocktail tiger; different terms used to denote captive tigers which are uncharacteristically white, are the product of inbreeding and have a pinkish hue around their eyes. Besides, white tigers in the wild are thought to be extinct as the last reported sighting was in the 1950s.

But Ray’s shot was eventually validated by the forest department officials and Belinda Wright who is a renowned conservationist, tiger expert and the founder of the Wildlife Protection Society of India.

Commenting on the discovery, Wright even said that “it is the palest tiger I have ever seen on the record or heard about in literature,” according to the Guardian.

As the comment thread grew larger with time, three days after his original post, Ray commented: “UPDATE: I had shared RAW + JPEGs with, and have talked to Sanctuary Asia and Belinda Wright. Expert opinion: This is not a 'white' or albino tiger, the inbred type you find in zoos. But an extremely pale and rare one. Belinda mentioned that she saw something like this in Ranthambore in the 1980s, but this one is even paler, perhaps the palest she has seen in the wild. I also had a talk with the forest department again, they said they are taking necessary steps (camera traps, protection etc.). ”


Dr Parvish Pandya, a zoologist and consultant with Sanctuary Asia with whom Ray consulted suggested that pale tiger’s appearance may be because of colour morphism, a phenomenon which exists in other animals and species as well and is due to the result of random mating and varied genetic recombinations.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Ray said that he hopes that his accidental but serendipitous discovery bodes well for the creature. He also took precautions by not disclosing the exact location of the tiger because of fear of poachers or tourists.

“I just hope that the Tiger stays safe and that he is looked after and allowed to remain in the wild,” he told DH.