Image caption Kolkata zoo has three white tigers, including two females 
 
 Officials at the Alipore zoo in the Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta) say their attempts to mate a young tiger have been unsuccessful with the big cat showing little interest in mating. Vishal, the 10-year-old white tiger, has so far spurned the advances of tigress Rupa, living in the adjoining enclosure, an official told the BBC. Vishal and Rupa, aged 10 and eight, were selected for their youth and vigour after the State Zoo Authority gave permission to resume captive breeding last year. "For the past six months we've been trying to mate Vishal," Dayanarayan Banerjee, who retired as the senior veterinary officer at the zoo and is now working as a veterinary consultant there, told the BBC. "Vishal has grown up in captivity due to which he has never interacted with the opposite sex earlier. Mr Banerjee says this is the first time an attempt has been made to mate Vishal - the only male in the breeding age in the zoo - but perhaps he is a bit too old to mate. Mr Banerjee said when Vishal was introduced to eight-year-old Rupa, he was "friendly enough" and "displayed no sign of hostility", but that's where the contact ended. We are hoping she will succeed in enticing Vishal," said a veterinary officer.
– Male tigers are a lot like human men when it comes to sex. They're shy and awkward about their bodies if they haven't spent a lot of time around female tigers. They take libido enhancers when they get older. And, if a partner their own age isn't doing it for them, they consider trading them in for a younger, prettier tiger. BBC News reports India's Alipore zoo is having a difficult time getting its 10-year-old white tiger Vishal to mate. The zoo has tried vitamins and even de-worming him; nothing seems to be working. Experts are blaming the fact that Vishal was born in captivity, meaning he doesn't have much experience with females and might not understand the biological signals his body is sending, according to the Times of India. Plus, Vishal is at the outer limits of breeding age for tigers. This is apparently frustrating to Rupa, a female white tiger the zoo has assigned to breed with Vishal. While in heat, Rupa will chase, touch, and scratch Vishal, but he "runs away with his tail between his legs," a veterinary consultant tells the Times. Zoo staff have been trying to mate the two tigers for six months, and it's important they succeed because the zoo's tiger population is getting older and hasn't had a birth in more than a decade. Now, staff are considering trying Vishal out with a much younger Bengal tiger named Rani, who is described as having "a very beautiful face," the BBC reports. Ouch, Rupa.