Video: White tiger cubs make their public debut at Tokyo zoo Four newborn white tiger cubs made their first public appearance at a zoo in Japan on Thursday. Crowds gathered at Tobu zoo near Tokyo to catch a glimpse of the animals. White tigers have a rare genetic anomaly and are extremely rare in the wild. Only 250-odd exist worldwide, most of them in zoos and wildlife parks. The four cubs - one female and three males - were born 46 days ago. They are the first white tiger cubs to be born at Tobu zoo, and take the number of white tigers in Japan to 30.