As India's 2018 Census makes its entry in the Guinness World Records, the nation is set to embrace more good news about the big cat.
Recently, a golden tiger was spotted in the Kaziranga National Park, Assam. The photo of the rare tiger was taken by Mayuresh Hendre and shared by Indian Forest Services (IFS) officer Parveen Kaswan.
According to Kaswan, this is the only documentation of a golden tiger or the Golden Tabby tiger in the 21st century.
They are very rare and some say it is caused by a recessive gene that gets expressed due to extensive inbreeding. 2/n pic.twitter.com/r2v6oVb1Tl
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) July 10, 2020
Same was captured in a camera trap of FD few years back and shared in public by authorities. She is a female. My tweet from last year about it. https://t.co/wuZW54s1ZP pic.twitter.com/ML4WUpRkO8
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) July 11, 2020
“Goldie” may be the world’s only “golden” tiger that lives in the wild, Twitterati incredulous at the marvel.
Few were recorded in zoo. But rarely captured in wild. And in recent years this one individual. Pics taken & sent by @Mayuresh_Hendre for sharing with all. pic.twitter.com/bFPhSL0fqg
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) July 11, 2020
Diversity is Nature’s Way.
— Ankit Kumar, IFS (@AnkitKumar_IFS) July 12, 2020
Following variants of Top Predators are found in🇮🇳
1) Melanistic Tiger ,Simlipal TR (P.C.@sandeepifs)
2) Golden Tiger ,Kaziranga NP (P.C.Mayuresh Hendre)
3) Black Panther/ Melanistic Leopard (P.C.@saroshlodhi)
4) White Tiger ,Odisha (P.C @Iamchinmay10) pic.twitter.com/UsPR5p6R63
A highly rare Tiger variation - the 'Golden Tiger', has been seen in the Kaziranga National Park in #India. A product of recessive genes, this special #tiger is indeed majestic & truly one of its kind.
— Dhanraj Nathwani (@DhanrajNathwani) July 12, 2020
PC: @Mayuresh_Hendre #GoldenTiger @kaziranga_ https://t.co/bCa5OCRckN pic.twitter.com/ADHbrTaLmb
the Golden Tiger is the only recorded individual in the wild in 21st Century. They can be found in zoos and breeding centres but no verified records in the wild exist. images clicked by Wildlife photographer @Mayuresh_Hendre of the Golden Tiger at the @kazirangaNational Park. pic.twitter.com/OrIhdkCc9x
— Mahesh Singh (@msrautwar) July 12, 2020
There's Only One Golden Tiger Recorded In The Wild This Century and she's in @kaziranga_, Assam, India pic.twitter.com/sIAzh2J1ue
— Nang Lucky Gogoi (@nanglucky) July 11, 2020
Tigers can be born “golden” due to a recessive gene that gets expressed due to inbreeding. Although it is pretty common to see 'golden' tigers in zoos across the world, where they are kept captive for years, 'Goldie' may be the only one that is free in the wild.
Kaswan is known to share interesting photos and videos of animals in the wild on his social media.