White tigers: The striped Olympic mascot with a checkered past

[Quartz Obsession] White tigers February 09, 2018 Paws for reflection --------------------------------------------------------------- Meet [Soohorang]( the mascot of the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang. Chances are, you’ll be seeing a lot of this rotund white tiger in the weeks to come. In Korean mythology and culture, the tiger is associated with trust, strength, and protection. (In 1988 Seoul chose [Hodori]( an orange Siberian tiger, to welcome the world.) Soohorang’s name is a nod to the big cat’s role as a guardian: “Sooho” is the Korean word for protection, while “Rang” derives from “ho-rang-i,” which means “tiger.” But there’s an unfortunate parallel between the mascot and the plight of the actual white tiger: a mascot is meant to be a rallying point, but really, it’s an income generator. And the same is true of the genetically rare cats that have for decades been inhumanely bred for show. 🌐 [View this email on the web]( By the digits [3,890:]( number of wild tigers in the world as of 2016, up from 3,200 in 2010 but down from 100,000 in 1900. [88:]( Pounds of meat a tiger can consume at one time [$300 million:]( Amount Brazil net in profits from licensing intellectual property from the 2016 Games, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). [$130 million (around Â¥14.4 billion):]( Amount Tokyo hopes to accrue from licensing of mascots and other Olympic emblems for the 2020 games [$5,000–$6,500:]( cost of a custom mascot costume from Amazing Mascots, though prices range wildly up to $20,000. [AUD$80,450:]( Amount paid at auction for one of only two plush renderings of Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat. The unauthorized but massively popular mascot of the Sydney 2000 games was a [commentary on Olympic commercialism](. (Thanks to “noreallyitsjustme” for the reminder.) Origin story What's a white tiger? --------------------------------------------------------------- White tigers are big attractions for some wildlife parks and certain Las Vegas magicians, but despite their creative marketing, a white tiger is not a “Royal Bengal” or any exotic subspecies; it’s just a Bengal tiger with a mutated gene. [According to Ed Yong at National Geographic,]( white tigers must inherit a copy of a rare recessive gene from each of their parents. The gene, SLC45A2, can produce lighter skin or hair in mice, horses, chickens, and humans. As Peking University researchers determined, a change in just one DNA letter interferes with the creation of the red-yellow melanin that makes most tigers orange. (White tigers are not albinos—they still have black pigment in their stripes and eyes.) Clearly the tigers survived in the wild with this gene, though there’s evidence they suffer from vision problems. But the bulk of white tigers that exist today are the product of human intervention. profit motives Tigers in trouble --------------------------------------------------------------- The best guarantee of producing a white tiger is to mate them with each other. And, of course, inbreeding [results]( in a host of issues: crossed eyes, swallowing difficulties, cranial deformities, and other health problems. As a result, attractions featuring white tigers [are controversial](. Julie Hanan, advocacy coordinator for the Wildcat Sanctuary, [told AccuWeather]( that the Olympic mascot will “promote a genetically inbred, compromised animal that breeders and exhibitors continue to exploit and breed for profit.” “For years, breeders and exhibitors have been using the excuse that white tigers are an endangered species,” [the Wildcat Sanctuary says](. “This is completely false. Breeders of white tigers do not contribute to any species survival plan; they are breeding for money.” Fun fact! Tigers’ striping patterns are as unique as human fingerprints. 🐦 [Tweet this card]( Timeline [1500s:]( The existence of white tigers is first recorded in India. [1958:]( The last “truly wild” white tiger is shot and killed in India. [1960:]( President Dwight D. Eisenhower is presented with a white tiger named Mohini, the first in the U.S., which he gives to the National Zoo in D.C. [1970s:]( Populations have dwindled to a few dozen [Early 1980s:]( Vegas showmen Siegfried and Roy buy three white tigers from the Cincinnati Zoo [2008:]( The Association of Zoos and Aquariums calls for a ban on white tiger and white lion breeding. [2011:]( Police in Hampshire, England, are alerted to a white tiger lurking in a local field. After obtaining tranquilizers from a zoo, locating a helicopter, and preparing to close a nearby freeway, police ascertain that the tiger was a stuffed toy “of the kind won at funfairs.” [2018:]( Weirdly, the stuffed tiger thing [just happened again.]( Industry hazards The adventures of Siegfried and Roy --------------------------------------------------------------- Arguably the biggest western promoters of the white tiger are Las Vegas illusionists Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn. Since the 1980s, they have owned a significant chunk of the world’s white tiger population for use in their Las Vegas nightclub act. In 1987, two of their white tiger cubs were being transported for a TV appearance when the drivers and trainer stopped for breakfast at a diner in midtown Manhattan. While the handlers were inside, thieves stole the truck, unaware they were in possession of a couple of [185-pound predators](. Siegfried and Roy went through with the interview on CBS’s The Morning Program, using their time to beg for tigers’ return back. The truck was later found abandoned in the Bronx, with the tigers no worse for wear. In 2003, a seven-year-old white tiger named Montecore grabbed Roy by the neck during a performance—the first injury in the duo’s [5,000+]( Vegas shows. Roy suffered a stroke during the incident and eventually retired from show biz, but always maintained that Montecore was trying to help him, not harm him. The tiger died after a short illness [in 2014]( at the age of 17. Pop Quiz Which of these Olympic mascots are fictional? Romulus and Remus, twin man-wolvesNeve and Gliz, an anthropomorphized snowball and ice cube, respectivelyMagique, a starman/snow impWenlock and Mandeville, twin drops of steel with cameras for eyes Correct. In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus are twin brothers who were suckled by a she-wolf. Incorrect. Nope, real mascot! If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. take me down this 🐯 hole In an effort to combat skyrocketing obesity rates, the Chilean government recently enacted a series of regulations on how foods can be marketed and packaged, including [stripping characters like Tony the Tiger off cereal boxes](. The bright side The genetic advantage of the white black bear --------------------------------------------------------------- Like the white tiger, the ivory-colored Ursus americanus kermodeii isn’t albino; it’s a subspecies of black bear with a genetic mutation. Unlike white tigers, however, these so-called “Spirit Bears” actually have survival advantages due to their unique fur. They’re less visible to fish than their darker counterparts, which make them [30% more successful]( at snatching up salmon. Spirit Bears are found almost exclusively along the rainforest coast of British Columbia, though one wandered into Minnesota [in 1997](. Industry secrets Mascot troubles --------------------------------------------------------------- According to wrestling’s governing body, coaches must throw a “soft object” onto the mat to challenge a call. Often it’s a foam brick, but [according to Vice]( it could be “tube socks stuffed with other tube socks” or the plush Angry Birds that made an appearance at the 2014 World Championships in Finland. In Rio, the object was a small rendition of the mascot Vinicius, which some coaches found insulting. “The fate of one of my athletes who has been training for this specific moment for four years hangs in the balance of a referee’s error,” one coach said to Vice. “And I have a stuffed animal in my hands.” Poll Who’s your favorite? [Click here to vote]( Tony the Tiger is still grrrrrr-eat!Hobbes is the only acceptable answer, ever.Shiva from The Walking Dead, may she rest in peace. the fine print In yesterday’s poll about [negative trade secrets,]( 59% of you said maybe companies should just chill out about the whole thing. Today’s email was written by [Stacy Conradt,]( edited by [Jessanne Collins,]( and produced by [Quincey Tickner]( 👇. [Screen Shot 2018-02-08 at 6.24.09 PM] Images: AP Photo/ Natacha Pisarenko (white tiger cub), AP Photo/ Ilnar Salakhiev (white tiger and cub), AP Photo/ Scott McKiernan (Siegfried and Roy), Reuters/ Andy Gao (Olympic mascots), Reuters/ Toru Hanai (Vinicius), [Wikimedia (Spirit Bears)]( Reuters/ Thomas Peter (Tony the Tiger mascot) Sound off ✏️ [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20white%20tigers&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) 👛 [What’s the most you’ve ever spent on a bag?](mailto:obsession%2Bprompt@qz.com?cc=&subject=We%20wont%20tell!%20&body=) 📬 [Forward this email to a friend](mailto:replace_with_friends_email@qz.com?cc=obsession%2Bforward@qz.com&subject=The%20unfortunate%20parallel%20between%20the%20mascot%20and%20the%20plight%20of%20the%20actual%20white%20tiger.&body=Thought%20you%27d%20enjoy.%20%0A%0ARead%20it%20here%20http%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femail%2Fquartz-obsession%2F1202359%2F%0ASign%20up%20for%20the%20newsletter%20at%20http%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fquartz-obsession) The correct answer to the quiz is Romulus and Remus, twin man-wolves. 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