This is a joke about inbreeding. |
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2009-09-03
You know...in case you didn't get it. If you did, I applaud you, because while it was clear and coherent and, well, actually funny in my head, now that it's on paper it's just...not. There's no point in telling a joke if you have to explain it afterwards, but because this particular joke has an element of truth to it that is decidedly unfunny, I think it needs an explanation.
White tigers like Fiona are not a separate subspecies (or in her case, race), but are rather tigers that are homozygous for a recessive gene that causes the distinctive coloration. Because of the nature of its inheritance, white tigers are rarely seen in the wild. When a homozygous white tiger breeds with a normal orange tiger, the resulting cubs are carriers of the white fur trait, but unless the orange parent was a carrier itself, all of the babies will display the normal orange fur coloration. The only way to ensure that an all-white litter is born is to breed two white tigers together, a feat that is occasionally accomplished in captivity through inbreeding. Some tigers bred in this manner are born relatively healthy, but others suffer mental and physical handicaps due to reduced genetic diversity and the expression of latent deleterious genes. While I have no problem picking fun at kissing cousins, people who claim that "incest is wincest," and anthropomorphic animals that choose to knock up their sisters, there's nothing funny about forcing an animal to breed with its relative for the sake of producing a pretty circus attraction.
...I felt kind of sorry for Fiona while I was writing this, but I got over it pretty quick. Her parents aren't related, so she doesn't have an excuse ;)
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