A rare tiger cub has become a hit for its playfulness and unusual fur pattern at a Thai zoo.

Footage shows the golden tabby tiger named Sudkhet, with its distinct pale fur and orange stripes, splashing in a pool with its handler at the Tiger Park Pattaya Zoo in Chonburi province on December 19.

Visitors have praised Sudkhet for her 'adorable face', which they said was unlike other more fearsome tigers.

Zoo keeper Jaruwan Wonglamy said: 'Sudkhet is now 11 months old, but she has been at the zoo since she was around three months old.

'Sudkhet is known for being playful, and affectionate. She even whines and complains when her caretaker refuses to play with her. Unlike other tigers, she has a friendly personality.'

Golden tabby tigers, sometimes called golden tigers or strawberry tigers, are a type of Bengal tiger with a colour variation caused by a recessive gene. Instead of black stripes, they have paler fur with gold and deep orange stripes.

The Chiang Mai Night Safari said only 50 to 100 golden tigers are estimated to exist in the wild globally, but many more are believed to be carriers of the recessive gene.

Tiger Park Pattaya is a private zoo with around 90 tigers, many of which are Indochinese-Bengal hybrids.

The zoo is open every day with tickets priced at 120 baht (3 GBP) per visitor.

(1 GBP = 43.11 THB)