From the News: Cincinnati Zoo's last white tiger euthanized

Cincinnati Zoo's last white tiger euthanized

Call it the end of an era.  For decades, Cincinnati Zoo has been the bastion of support within AZA for white Bengal tigers, an animal adored and idolized by zoo visitors but of, frankly, very limited conservation value.  There was a time in the 90's when the Zoo's director even floated the idea of creating a Species Survival Plan just for the white cats.  As iconic of the Zoo as they were, I still feel like Cincinnati made the right decision in phasing out these cats.  Like other AZA-accredited facilities, they are trying to commit themselves towards a future of responsible stewardship of endangered species.  In that future, there's not much room for selectively-bred customized big cats.