I'm sure you've all heard about the existence of the white tiger. But most likely, few people wondered what kind of wild cats it was and whether white tigers are found in the wild or is it a human creation? Let's try to figure it out.

The existence of a white tiger has been known for a very, very long time. In ancient India, it was believed that a meeting with a white tiger could bring enlightenment, and killing an unusual beast - a series of troubles and death.

In the wild, white tigers were extremely rare. Over the past 60 years, neither scientists nor hunters have encountered a white tiger in nature. The last time a white tiger was seen was back in 1958. Unfortunately, he was not only seen, but also shot.

Until now, only white Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris), which lived and probably still live in the wild, are known to science.

It is believed that a white tiger cub is born with a probability of 1 in 10,000. This is a congenital mutation, but white tigers are not albinos, as indicated by the fact that their fur has dark stripes. In the wild, it is likely that white tigers were perfectly healthy animals, not much different from their usual red cousins. But in captivity, a completely different situation ...

Today, from 150 to 200 individuals of the white Bengal tiger live in captivity, and all thanks to one person and one tiger, respectively:

It all started back in 1951, when during a tiger hunt with the participation of Maharaja Reva Sri Martand Singh, a tiger's den was discovered, in which there were four tiger cubs - three red and one white. The red tiger cubs, alas, were allowed to skin, and the white one was settled in the Maharaja's palace and named Mohan. The tiger quickly became the favorite and the main pride of the ruler.

Maharaja hoped that sooner or later this white tiger should give birth to a white tiger, but for several years all kittens were born as usual - red. A few years later, the tiger was brought together with his own daughter. As a result of inbreeding (a bond between related individuals), the tigress gave birth to several kittens, one of which was white. It is said that until this moment no one had seen the Maharaja so happy. Several more years passed and so many white tigers already lived in the palace that they decided to sell some of them. In the early 1960s, several white tiger cubs ended up outside India, in particular in the United States and Great Britain. Today, white tigers are found in many zoos around the world, and large numbers also live in private nurseries, primarily in the United States.

Thus, absolutely all white tigers are descendants of the Mohan tiger, who lived in the maharaja's palace. To give birth to a white tiger, you need a white tiger and a tiger, which is the child of a white tiger. Also, a white tiger cub can be born to two red tigers, provided that both of them, or at least one of them, is the child of a white tiger. From all this it follows that all white tigers are the result of incest, which, of course, cannot but affect the offspring. White cubs are smaller than their ginger brothers and sisters. They often have slanting eyes, twisted legs, and a weak spine.

At the same time, according to observations, white cubs grow faster and grow larger than ordinary Bengal tigers.

As I already said, only representatives of the Bengal subspecies are white, but white (with black stripes) Amur tigers are often found in zoos. But there are no white Amur tigers in the wild. More precisely, there was not a single documented case of a meeting with a white Amur tiger. As for the captive white Amur tigers, this is not a purebred Amur tiger, but a mixture of Amur and Bengal tigers with a congenital white mutation.

We all know that the tiger is a fiery cat with black stripes, we also know about the beautiful white Bengal tigers - snow-white with black stripes. What do we know about gold, black and Maltese tigers? Today I will tell you about them :)

Golden tiger

The golden tiger is the most rare discoloration caused by a recessive gene. Such representatives of tigers differ from their relatives by a slightly larger size and softer golden coat with orange stripes; black stripes can be seen only in some individuals on the tip of the tail. There is a version that the development of this type of color gradually developed in a group of tigers, one of whose representatives possessed a recessive gene for a golden color and periodically interbred with his offspring. The emerging color served as an additional camouflage for such tigers living in areas rich in clay soils. At the moment, there are about 30 golden tigers in captivity.

Black Tiger

The black tiger is a rare color variation of the tiger that is not a separate species or geographic subspecies. Tigers are named black because of pseudomelanosis. The black stripes of the pseudo-Melanist tigers are so close together that the background color is barely visible between them. For a long time, black tigers were considered a myth, however, several skins have proven that pseudo-melanists exist. Melanists, in contrast to black tigers, are colored uniformly black without stripes. Melanistic tiger was captured only once, now this image is lost.

Maltese (blue) tiger


Artistic representation of the Maltese tiger

The existence of the Maltese (blue) tiger has not been proven, but reports of sightings with him periodically come from the Chinese province of Fujian and Korea. Based on these reports, the tiger has a bluish fur with dark gray stripes. Perhaps due to illegal tiger hunting in China, the blue tiger species has become completely extinct. Around 1910, Harry Caldwell, an American missionary and big game hunter, was hunting a blue tiger in the vicinity of Fuzhou. His searches are described in the book by Roy Champan Andrews "The Blue Tiger" (1924): "The coloration of the animal is strikingly beautiful. The main color has a delicate Maltese shade, changing to a light gray-blue to the bottom. The stripes stand out clearly, like an ordinary yellow tiger." ... A later report of the Maltese tiger came from a US soldier during a Korean campaign. A soldier saw a blue tiger in the mountains near the demilitarized zone. This meeting is described in the book "Mysterious Cats of the World" by Karl Shuker. There have also been reports of blue tigers from Burma.

White tiger

White Bengal tigers have black-brown stripes on their white fur and blue eyes. This coloration is very rare in wildlife, but is often common in captive populations. In every 10,000 tigers, only one is born white. The first mention of a white tiger dates back to 1951, when one of the hunters found a white tiger cub in the tigress's den. This tiger was crossed with a female of normal color, who gave birth to 4 red tiger cubs. Then a white tiger was crossed with one of his daughters, and in a litter of three cubs, two turned out to be white. Thus, all white tigers in captivity are descendants of one individual. There are now about 130 white tigers in zoos.

The white Bengal tiger is not an albino. Albino tiger has no black stripes at all.

Quite a large, beautiful animal, included in Red Book... This is a representative of the Bengal tiger subspecies with a congenital mutation.

The white Bengal tiger is often smaller than its counterparts.

Growth retardation can be observed from childhood. He has a white or cream coat with brown-black stripes and blue eyes.

Sometimes observed birth defects: clubfoot, squint, poor eyesight, curved spine.

Animal white tiger

Unusual coat color caused by the presence of recessive genes. Zoologists have different opinions about this subspecies.

Some people think that the white tiger is just genetic freak, which there is nothing to demonstrate, and even more so - to breed. Others prove that such individuals as a natural phenomenon cannot be rejected.

Ordinary wildlife lovers really like white bengal tigers... They are the ones who get the most attention in the zoo.

This animal is not an albino, so a real albino tiger cannot have brown and black stripes. If both parents are orange, but they have certain genes, then the probability of offspring with white fur is approximately 25%. In the case when one of the parents is orange and the other is white, the chance of giving birth to a light-colored tiger increases to 50%.

Physiology

This predator has a massive body elongated in length. He has excellent musculature and excellent flexibility that are characteristic of all members of the feline family. The back of his body is less developed than the front. On the front paws of the animal there are five fingers, on the hind legs - four each. All fingers have retractable claws. The head is distinguished by a convex forehead and a rather protruding facial part, a massive large skull and widely spaced cheekbones. The ears are small, rounded.

An adult of this species should have 30 teeth, of which two canines up to 8 cm long. On the sides of the tongue of the animal there are tubercles covered with keratinized epithelium, which help to separate the meat from the bone of the prey. The skin of the animal is covered with a rather dense, low hairline.

Habitat

It is very difficult to see a white tiger in natural conditions. Of ten thousand individuals, only one has this color. In nature, these animals are found in Nepal, Central and North India, on the territory of Sundabaran and Budapest.

Man caught the first white tiger in the middle of the last century. Subsequently, other individuals of this color were obtained from him. Today, representatives of this species are found in many zoos around the world.

Tigers are territorial animals... On their territory, they lead a solitary lifestyle. The intrusion of a stranger on her is subject to fierce resistance. Predators mark their territory by leaving marks on vertical objects. The area of ​​the territory depends on:

  • habitats;
  • the presence of production;
  • density of settlement by other individuals;
  • the presence of females.

At the same time - in the "possession" of the male there may be separate habitats of tigresses.

Females, unlike males, can easily coexist with individuals of the same sex on the same territory.

Nutrition and lifestyle

White bengal tiger, like its relatives - a predator.

In the natural environment, its food is ungulates. These can be deer, wild boars, Indian sambars, etc. But he can eat a hare, a pheasant, a monkey and even fish. For good nutrition, he, on average, needs to eat about 60 ungulates per year.

At one time the animal can eat 30-40 kg of meat.

But, at the same time, a tiger can go without food for a considerable time. This is due to the presence of fatty subcutaneous tissue, reaching in some individuals 5cm.

This animal hunts alone, using one of two hunting techniques - waiting for the victim in ambush or sneaking up on it. The predator moves very carefully in short steps, often falling to the ground. Approaches tracked prey from the leeward side. Then he makes several big jumps, reaching the desired object.

If the animal that the tiger is hunting moves away from it by more than 100-150 m, the predator stops hunting. This mammal can reach speeds of up to 60 km / h and jump up to 10 m in length and up to 5 m in height. Having caught and killed the victim, he carries it, squeezing it in his teeth or dragging it along the ground. In this case, the weight of the killed animal can exceed its own weight by 6-7 times.

The white Bengal tiger leads an active lifestyle in the morning and in the evening, preferring to lie and sleep in some secluded convenient place the rest of the time. It easily tolerates low temperatures and is not afraid of winter, knows how to swim and loves to swim in hot weather.

Tigers breed well in captivity, so many zoos manage to get quite healthy offspring. However, even in cases where both parents are white, their babies can be born red.

The tigress is capable of fertilization several times a year. The first offspring most often the female brings at the age of 3-4 years. Bearing children lasts 97-112 days. She can give birth 2-3 times a year. One brood contains 2-4 cubs. The cubs weigh 1.3-1.5 kg.

Cubs are born blind, beginning to see clearly in 6-8 days. For the first six weeks, the cubs feed only on breast milk. They grow near the mother, who does not allow males, as they can kill the babies born. Eight-week-old cubs are able to follow their mother. But they become completely independent only at the age of 18 months.

It should be borne in mind that white tigers in natural conditions are very rare, more prevailing in zoos, where mating occurs between representatives of this species.

Since ancient times, white tigers have been endowed with magical powers and have been surrounded by numerous beliefs. They instilled fear, becoming objects of worship. Some interesting facts about these animals:

  1. In each individual, the contours of the stripes have an individual configuration, and never repeat, like fingerprints in humans.
  2. White tigers rarely growl, but his voice is heard not at a distance of three kilometers.
  3. Exploring graves in Henan province in the late 1980s, archaeologists found a drawing of a tiger. It was a shell talisman lying near the body, about 6 thousand years old. Today it is the oldest amulet depicting a white tiger.
  4. In Kyrgyzstan, they say about this animal that it can solve any difficulties and problems. While dancing a ritual dance, the shamans fell into a trance and asked the tiger for help.
  5. In India, there is a belief that seeing with your own eyes a white tiger, you can find complete happiness and enlightenment.
  6. All white tigers that are kept in captivity today have a common ancestor - the Bengal male Mohan.

From the history

In the spring of 1951, while hunting, the Maharajah of Reva saw four teenage tiger cubs. One of them attracted attention with its unusual color. The red-haired babies were killed, and the white cub was taken to the palace, where he lived for about 12 years.

The white tiger was named Mohan. The ruler was proud to have such a rare beast. Wanting to get offspring, Mohana was "married" by an ordinary red female, which periodically brought tiger cubs, but there were no white ones among them. And only after one of his daughters was brought together with him in 1958 - one of the tiger cubs was born white.

Subsequently, the number of such animals began to increase, and it was decided to sell them. Despite the fact that white tigers were declared a rare national treasure of India, several of their representatives were soon taken out of the country. A little time passed and the white tigers ended up at the Bristol Zoo in the UK. Spectacular, unusual mammals began their march around the world.

The first white tiger appeared in Russia in 2003, having arrived from Holland. It was a five year old male. A year later, a "bride" from Sweden was brought to him. This couple in 2005 gave birth to offspring - three white tiger cubs.

The white tiger is an animal listed in the Red Book. Photo and description of a white tiger

It's no secret that in our time, wildlife needs protection. But some animals of the Red Book, the white tiger for example, live only in zoos. This predator is not classified as a separate subspecies. He is an individual of the Bengal tiger, which has a congenital mutation. This deviation results in a white coat with black or light brown stripes. In addition, such specimens have blue or green eyes, which is completely unusual for tigers with the usual fur color.

Habitat

The Bengal White Tiger is an animal found in Central and Northern India, Burma, Bangladesh and Nepal. It should be noted that "Bengalis" most often have a red color. But if a white tiger is born in the wild, then it will be very difficult for him to survive due to the fact that with such a color he will not be able to hunt successfully, as he is too noticeable for his victims.

It is believed that these predators are native to Siberia, and their color is camouflage in a snowy winter. But this is a delusion, because white tigers still appeared in India.

General information

The white tiger is an animal that is born with a frequency of one in 10 thousand with the usual color of fur. Reports of these predators were recorded for several decades, and they came mainly from Bengal, Assam, Bihar, but there were especially many from the territory of the former principality of Rewa.

The first documented sighting of a white tiger dates back to the middle of the 20th century. Then one of the hunters accidentally found the animal's den, where among the usual was a white male tiger, and took it with him. This man tried to breed offspring of the same color from him, having happened to him with an ordinary female. The first attempts were unsuccessful, but after a while he still managed to get the second generation of white tigers.

More than half a century has passed since that moment. The population of these animals with an unusual color has increased significantly. Interestingly, all the white tigers now kept in captivity in various zoos around the world are descendants of the very individual once found by a hunter in the jungle. From this it follows that all these representatives of the feline tribe are related to each other. There are now about 130 white tigers in captivity, of which about 100 are in India. Unfortunately, the last representative of these animals, which once lived in nature, was shot back in 1958.

Genetic glitches

Scientists have proven that the white tiger is a non-albino animal. This color of the coat can only be caused by the presence of recessive genes. This means that a true albino tiger cannot have black or brown stripes. If both parents have an orange color, but they carry certain genes, then the chance that they will have offspring with white fur is approximately 25%. Now let's take another case. For example, if the parents are of different colors, that is, one of them is white and the other is orange, then the chance of getting light offspring increases to 50%.

As mentioned above, albinos also come across among white tigers. These animals have solid colored fur without traditional stripes. In the organisms of such individuals, there is practically no coloring pigment, therefore their eyes are red due to the blood vessels visible on them.

White tiger: description of the animal

Such individuals are very often inferior in size to their red relatives, and a slowdown in growth has been observed in them since childhood. As stated earlier, these tigers have white striped fur and blue or green eyes. Sometimes they have various birth defects due to a genetic malfunction. These include clubfoot, poor vision and squint, kidney problems, and a curved neck and spine. But nevertheless, it is not necessary to argue that because of this, the infant mortality of white tigers is too high.

These beautiful and unusual animals are considered to be extremely valuable specimens everywhere. And this applies not only to zoos. Popular culture is also influenced by white tigers, for example, some of the popular music groups have dedicated songs to them.

Amur tigers

It must be said that Bengal individuals are not the only ones that have similar gene mutations. Sometimes there are also white Amur tigers with black stripes. But this happens much less often.

The current population of these beautiful animals includes both Bengal and hybrid Bengal-Amur individuals. Therefore, now scientists are at a loss to guess which of them originally belongs to this recessive white gene.

Despite the fact that information about white Amur tigers comes from time to time, their very existence in nature has not yet been documented. Many zoologists believe that this subspecies does not have such mutations. In many zoos there are Amur tigers with white fur, but they are not purebred, since in fact they were obtained as a result of crossing with Bengal tigers.

Attitude

For many centuries, the white tiger (a photo of the animal is presented in this article) was a creature shrouded in a halo of mystery. Sometimes these beasts instilled fear or became objects of worship. In the Middle Ages in China, their images were applied to the gates of Taoist temples. It was believed that the white tiger is an animal capable of protecting people from various evil spirits. He personified the keeper of a certain land of the dead, and also symbolized longevity. The Chinese firmly believed that demons should be terrified of such a formidable guard, so they often decorated the graves of their relatives with sculptures in the form of this animal.

In the late 80s. last century, archaeologists, excavating graves in the Henan province, discovered a drawing of a tiger, whose age is about 6 thousand years. It was a shell talisman lying near the body. Today it is considered the oldest amulet depicting a white tiger.

In Kyrgyzstan, they said about this animal that it can solve almost any human problems and difficulties. For this, the shamans, dancing a ritual dance and gradually falling into a trance, asked the tiger for help.

But in his homeland, in India, one belief still exists. It says that the person who is lucky enough to see a white tiger with his own eyes will be granted complete happiness and enlightenment. It was from this country, where he is perceived as a super-being, but completely material, and not mythical, that he spread throughout the world.

The Bengal White Tiger is an animal found in Central and Northern India, Burma, Bangladesh and Nepal. It should be noted that "Bengalis" most often have a red color. But if a white tiger is born in the wild, then it will be very difficult for him to survive due to the fact that with such a color he will not be able to hunt successfully, since he is too noticeable for his victims. It is believed that these predators are native to Siberia, and their color is camouflage in a snowy winter. But this is a delusion, because white tigers still appeared in India.

Description

This is the largest and heaviest cat in the world, despite the fact that different subspecies have slightly different torso parameters. On average, the body length of a striped handsome man is 1.5–2.6 m, but sometimes they can grow up to 3.1 m, and this is not taking into account the length of the caudal process, which is approximately 60–110 cm. The mass of one such cat ranges from 115 to 320 kg, depending on the subspecies and sex of the animal.

If we consider the whole body of a tiger as a whole, then it impresses with its beauty, the development of muscle tissue, majesty and unsurpassed flexibility. The front area of ​​the body slightly exceeds the sacral area, and it is much better developed, thanks to this, the tiger's posture is so graceful and proud that one involuntarily creates the impression that he is looking at the whole world around him from a height. The long, beautiful tail is adorned with evenly distributed hair. The front legs end with five fingers, the hind legs have four, the claws have a tendency to retract, like in domestic cats.

Separately, the teeth of the predator should be noted, among them the canines stand out, not only in their development, but also in length, which is approximately 7–8 cm, it is they who help the animal to take life from its prey. But in the process of eating the victim, he uses his tongue, in which you can see the epithelial outgrowths, thanks to which, he easily separates the meat from the periosteum.

Wool

If we consider the coat of an animal, then it differs greatly depending on the homeland of one or another representative of the cat family. In those wild cats that live in the southern territories, the skin is covered with relatively short and not abundant fur, but in the northern subspecies the wool is quite fluffy, thick and long.

Mother Nature did her best to decorate these adorable animals, choosing almost all shades of red color as the main color. The projection of the abdomen and limbs are painted mainly in light colors, it is also possible to see some light areas on the back of the ears. Particular attention, of course, is the worthy drawing on the chic body of the tiger, which is represented by a large number of stripes. These elements also come in a variety of colors, ranging from browns to charcoal blacks. The stripes themselves differ in a characteristic arrangement, along the entire body and neck they are drawn transversely vertically, sometimes they can reach the abdomen, sometimes only to the lateral surface. All strips end sharply, they can occasionally bifurcate. On the back of the body of a mammal, the pattern is thicker and more saturated, sometimes with a transition to the surface of the thighs.

The area of ​​the muzzle, which is located below the nose, the area of ​​tactile hair, the chin and the mandibular zone are colored white, only a small number of black specks are noted in the corners of the mouth and lower lip. On the forehead, in the parietal and occipital parts, an original pattern is also observed, represented by various transverse stripes, most often having an irregular shape. The front part of the ears is covered with white wool, but the back part is always painted black and has a characteristic large white spot on its upper half.

The tail is also not devoid of original ornamentation, only at the base there is no pattern at all, and the tip is mostly painted black. Usually the caudal process is painted with transverse stripes, which, connecting with each other, form solid rings, which are usually from 8 to 10. In general, there are at least 100 stripes on the body of a tiger, their size and distance between them depends on the specific species, but the pattern that they they form themselves - this is a kind of visiting card of a particular animal, like fingerprints or DNA in humans. The stripes on the body of a predator are, of course, very beautiful and original, but their function is by no means aesthetic. This war paint allows the predator to go unnoticed by its prey while hunting. Interestingly, the skin of the beast has exactly the same pattern, and if you shave off the fur, it will grow back with an identical pattern.

Origin

The famous white tigers are not a fad of geneticists, but a species of Bengal tigers found in nature. These are not albinos, as it might seem at first glance (although, of course, there are also albinos among tigers) - Bengal white tigers have black stripes and blue eyes. The white color of the skin is due to a lack of melanin. In the wild, white cubs are rarely born to common red tigers.

Since ancient times, these unusual creatures were endowed with magical abilities and were surrounded by numerous beliefs. They were revered in Kyrgyzstan, China and, of course, in India - it was believed that seeing a white tiger, one can gain enlightenment (probably quite often posthumously). It was from India that white tigers spread throughout the world.

Among animals with normal normal color, there are white individuals called albinos. These animals have so little pigment that their eyes appear red due to visible blood vessels. Everyone knows white mice, rats, and rabbits. It is known that in 1922 in India (according to other sources - in Burma), two pure white tigers with red eyes were shot dead. Similar cases have been recorded in South China. The rest of the white tigers known to man cannot be called albinos in the full sense of the word: most of them are blue-eyed and have brown stripes on their skin. It would be more accurate to talk about the light (white) color variation of their color.

Bengal tigers of the usual red color sometimes give birth to cubs with white fur, on which, however, dark stripes remain. In nature, they rarely survive - such animals cannot hunt successfully, as they are too noticeable. White tigers are specially bred for circuses and zoos.

In captivity, they are propagated as a separate species, because the color is genetically inherited. White parents always give birth to white cubs, but such offspring are rare in red tigers. It is not surprising that people prefer not to rely on luck, but simply to breed white tigers with each other. Therefore, captive white tigers have weaker health than their free relatives. Although in nature the life of a white tiger, even the healthiest one, is not easy. He is more visible, it is difficult for him to hunt. So zoo relatives, surrounded by care, still live longer - up to 26 years.

Lifestyle and nutrition

White bengal tiger, like its relatives - a predator. In the natural environment, its food is ungulates. These can be deer, wild boars, Indian sambars, etc. But he can eat a hare, a pheasant, a monkey and even fish. For good nutrition, he, on average, needs to eat about 60 ungulates per year.

At one time the animal can eat 30-40 kg of meat... But, at the same time, a tiger can go without food for a considerable time. This is due to the presence of fatty subcutaneous tissue, reaching in some individuals 5cm.

This animal hunts alone, using one of two hunting techniques - waiting for the victim in ambush or sneaking up on it. The predator moves very carefully in short steps, often falling to the ground. Approaches tracked prey from the leeward side. Then he makes several big jumps, reaching the desired object.

If the animal that the tiger is hunting moves away from it by more than 100-150 m, the predator stops hunting. This mammal can reach speeds of up to 60 km / h and jump up to 10 m in length and up to 5 m in height. Having caught and killed the victim, he carries it, squeezing it in his teeth or dragging it along the ground. In this case, the weight of the killed animal can exceed its own weight by 6-7 times.

The white Bengal tiger leads an active lifestyle in the morning and in the evening, preferring to lie and sleep in some secluded convenient place the rest of the time. He easily tolerates low temperatures and is not afraid of winter, knows how to swim and loves to swim in hot weather.

It should be borne in mind that white tigers in natural conditions are very rare, more prevailing in zoos, where mating occurs between representatives of this species.

Reproduction

Mating of tigers most often occurs in December-January. At the same time, only one male follows the female. If a rival appears, then a fight takes place between the males for the right to mate with the female.

The female tiger is capable of fertilization only a few days a year. If at this time the female is not fertilized, then estrus is repeated after a short time.

Most often, the tigress brings her first offspring at the age of 3-4 years, and the female can give birth every 2-3 years. Calving lasts approximately 97-112 days. Cubs are born in March-April. In one brood, most often there are 2-4 cubs, less often offspring with one cub, and even less often - 5-6 cubs. The birth weight of cubs is 1.3-1.5 kg. Cubs are born blind, but after 6-8 days they begin to see clearly.

For the first six weeks, the cubs feed only on tigress milk. The cubs grow only near the mother, the male tigresses are not allowed to the offspring, since the male can kill the cubs that are born.

After 8 weeks, the cubs become able to follow their mother and leave the den. The new generation becomes capable of independent life only at the age of about 18 months, but, as a rule, they remain with their mother until they reach 2-3 years, in some cases - up to 5 years.

After young tigers begin to live independently, females remain in close proximity to matter. Males, in contrast to them, go to longer distances, in search of their own unoccupied territory.

During their entire life, females endure about 10-20 cubs, and half of them die at a much young age. On average, a tiger has a lifespan of 26 years.

Is it easy for white tigers to survive in the wild?

Many people think that such an unusual coloration will not give white tigers the right to survive in nature, but this is not the case. White tigers have been in the wild for a long time and survive very well. Another thing is that people rarely see them, because people immediately start shooting at a white tiger in order to get a trophy in the form of its unusual skin.

In India, white tigers are shot very often - especially in the late 19th century - in the early 20th century, shooting them was common. And the killed tigers were already adults, healthy and well-fed, which means that they survived perfectly in the jungle and were good hunters. It is not clear why, but white cubs develop faster than their red counterparts and adults are larger and stronger than red tigers. And also more agile and faster.

Many of the killed white tigers were put on public display in Calcutta, while other stuffed animals were added to private collections and museums around the world. Today, white tigers can no longer be found in nature - they all live in zoos.

How to breed white tigers in captivity?

Since it is known that white tigers began to breed from crossing between relatives (inbreeding), now many white tigers have developmental anomalies.

This is mainly a failure of the immune system, strabismus, kidney problems, allergies. And, note, these anomalies are by no means associated with the white color of these animals.

However, now there are white tigers in almost every zoo in the world and gradually the need for their inbreeding disappears. Until now, no one knows how many white tigers actually live on the planet. After all, they are not only in circuses and zoos, but also in private individuals. There are a lot of white tigers in American zoos. And the demand for white tigers is very much satisfied by these zoos. As a result, India is no longer the main supplier of white tigers. However, it is in India that they are going to create a reserve of white tigers, where they will send tigers to live in the wild.

  1. In each individual, the contours of the stripes have an individual configuration, and never repeat, like fingerprints in humans.
  2. White tigers rarely growl, but his voice is heard not at a distance of three kilometers.
  3. Exploring graves in Henan province in the late 1980s, archaeologists found a drawing of a tiger. It was a shell talisman lying near the body, about 6 thousand years old. Today it is the oldest amulet depicting a white tiger.
  4. In Kyrgyzstan, they say about this animal that it can solve any difficulties and problems. While dancing a ritual dance, the shamans fell into a trance and asked the tiger for help.
  5. In India, there is a belief that seeing with your own eyes a white tiger, you can find complete happiness and enlightenment.
  6. The director of a zoo in New Delhi in the 60s of the last century - Kailash Sankhala - believes that it is possible that the function of the white gene is to maintain the gene for size in the population.
  7. Only a few hundred white tigers are found in zoos in the world, about a hundred of these tigers live in zoos in India.
  8. The current population of white tigers includes pure Bengal and hybrid Bengal-Amur tigers. However, it still remains a mystery where the recessive white gene came from - from Bengal tigers or from Amur tigers.
  9. There is no official scientific evidence for the existence of white Amur tigers. However, there are unconfirmed cases of white tigers being found in the regions where the Amur tigers live.
  10. The white Amur tiger today is the result of crossing a white Bengal tiger with an Amur tiger.

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