Four Rare Golden Tiger Cubs 'More Precious' Than Giant Pandas Born in Chinese Zoo

In a rare incident, four golden tiger cubs were born to a zoo in China's eastern Zhejiang Province.

The 12-day old cubs, three females and one male, were born on 19 October at Taihu Lake Longemont Paradise, an amusement park that has a zoo in Huzhou and viral images, videos show the tint cubs rolling over, frolicking inside the incubator.

Taking to a Twitter, a China-state affiliated media said, "Zoo in E China's Zhejiang welcomes four adorable golden tiger cubs. Known for its blonde or pale-golden color and red-brown (not black) stripes, a golden tiger is a tiger with a color variation caused by a recessive gene."

According to Daily Mail, the baby Bengal tigers undergo a recessive mutation and are born with blonde fur and red-brown striped. They belong to a species, which is even rarer than giant pandas.

An estimated 30 golden tigers at present exist around the world, which is 62 times less than the total number of giant pandas.

The zoo authorities have been reported to provide the tiger cubs round-the-clock as their parent is a first time mother and "lacks maternal experience".

As per the zoo authorities, this rare tiger species is produced by the genetic mutation of the Bengal tiger and has a very low fertility rate. And that what makes it even more "precious than giant pandas".

The golden tiger's colouring comes from a recessive trait, which affects the production of black colour during the hair growth cycle.

In July, India's only golden tiger was seen in Kaziranga, which is currently known to be alive in India.

Photos of the tiger were shared on Twitter by IFS Officer Parveen Kaswan. "Do you know in #India we have a Golden #Tiger also. Only documentation of such big cat in 21st century on planet...Look at this beauty," Kaswan wrote, adding that that image had been clicked by wildlife photographer Mayuresh Hendre.