a small white tiger found “in a terrible state” in a street near Athens

A rare white tiger cub has been found abandoned on a street near Greece’s main zoo, the Attica Zoological Park near Athens announced on Wednesday March 8. The four-month-old female, who was discovered under a trash can, was paralyzed from the waist down, the same source added.

“No one knows where she came from or how she got there”park founder Jean-Jacques Lesueur told the Greek daily Proto Thema, adding that it was probably abandoned on Monday. “She is in a terrible state”he added.

A “genetic anomaly”

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) describes white tigers as a “genetic anomaly”, because none exist in the wild. White tigers have a genetic mutation called leucism which gives them a white coat striped with black. They are often the result of inbreeding, which exposes them to a multitude of health problems at birth.

The Attica Zoological Park hosts more than 2,000 animals of 290 different species. It came under fire last year after a dominant male chimpanzee escaped from its enclosure during opening hours, only to be put down on public safety grounds.