White
tigers are very rarely found in the wild. In about 100 yeas only 12 white
tigers have been seen in the wild habitats of India. They are almost extinct
and most of the ones living are in captivity, mainly in zoos. This specific
tiger is neither an albino or a seperate subspecies of the tiger. They are
simply white colored and have black stripes that makes them special. It has
blue eyes and a pink nose. It also has prestine white colored fur. The white
tiger is born to a bengal tiger that has the recessive gene needed for white
coloring. A pure white tiger has no stripes and are completely white in
color.
Pristine wildness !
The splendid white coat is caused by a double recessive allele in the
genetic makeup, and only turns up naturally about once in every 10,000
births. Strangely enough, the Bengal tiger is the only subspecies in which
this seems to happen. As magnificent as it may look, life of a white tiger
can't be as easy as it looks.
Habitat & Range: Tigers usually dwell in an area from about 10
to 30 square miles where there is enough prey, cover/shelter and water to
support them. Territory mainly depends upon the amount of prey which is
available. The more concentrated the prey the smaller is the area that a
tiger needs to survive.
Life
span: White tigers in the wild live for about 10 to 15 years while
tigers in zoos usually survive 16 and 20 years.
Diet: Tigers do not hunt in social groups like lions. They are
usually solitary animals. In the wild, tigers would eat pig, cattle and
deer. They can eat as much as 40 pounds of meat at one time! After such a
big meal a tiger will not eat again for several days. White Tigers possesss
30 large teeth ranging from 2.5 to 3 inches.
Caring for Young: Tigers are generally prefer staying aloof, except
when caring for their young. Tigers keep their young with them for 2 or 3
years until the young tigers can fend for themselves.
Fascinating facts about white tiger:
- The White Tiger is a good swimmer, but a very poor climber.
- They may be slow runners, but they are stealthy enough to catch any prey
in their sights.
- Because they are solitary animals, they hunt mostly at night
- White tigers are born to Bengal tigers that carry an unusual gene needed
for white coloring.
-
The other four sub-species of tiger are Siberian, South China, Indochinese,
and Sumataran. There are only approximately 5,000 to 7,400 tigers left in
the wild.
Status: At the beginning of this century it is estimated that there
were 100,000 wild tigers, today the number is less than 8,000. Simply put,
tigers are disappearing in the wild. The main threats to tigers are
poaching, habitat loss and population fragmentation.
