I was dismayed to see that Bhagavan Antle (who is no Dr., but rather just calls himself Doc Antle) managed to bamboozle your paper into believing he has any real interest in conservation.  That is only the ruse he uses to exploit exotic animals for his own profit.  No real conservationist would breed white tigers.  Had your reporter googled "white tigers" she would know that.  The American Zoological Association and the head of the Tiger Species Survival Plan denounce such practices.  Find out why here:

http://www.bigcatrescue.org/cats/wild/white_tigers.htm

Surely no American paper would print such self serving drivel.  Australia has a couple of bad places who are breeding white tigers and trying to use the same conservation lip service that Antle uses, so it doesn't surprise me much that it isn't well known there just how abusive this is.  On the other hand, Australia has been very progressive in their understanding that importing exotic cat hybrids would be devastating to your environment.  People are catching on and soon it will be common knowledge that anyone who is breeding white tigers, tabby tigers, liger, king Cheetahs and other such anomalies is doing so merely for their own profit and not for that of the species nor the planet.

Chimp apes mum's love for tiger

By Angela Saurine October 13, 2008 12:00am

THEY may not be related by blood but orphaned tiger cub Mitra loves to monkey around with his unlikely surrogate mum.

Mitra and sibling Shiva were separated from their mother during Hurricane Hanna in the US last month.

Now the three-week-old white tiger cubs have found comfort in the arms of caring chimpanzee Anjna.

While they would be unlikely companions out in the wild, in the safety of The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species in South Carolina they have formed a strong bond.

"She gives them a bottle, lies with them and acts as a surrogate mother," TIGERS founder Dr Bhagavan Antle said. Dr Antle said the sanctuary in which the tiger cubs lived was flooded in the hurricane and they had to be moved into a house.

When their mother became distressed, staff decided to separate them for their own safety.

The cubs were placed in the care of infant animal care giver China York and her chimpanzee companion, Anjna. "Anjna has been with China side by side ever since she was born and has joined her in caring and raising baby animals," Dr Antle said.

"She has just finished raising four lions and they were inseparable. She is a great assistant."

TIGERS is a wildlife organisation dedicated to promoting conservation.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24487190-24331,00.html