The White Tiger: Rare and Disappearing

The white tiger (also known as the Bengal tiger) is about 3 meters long, and weighs approximately 180-285 kg (400-569 LB). It’s coat lies flatter than that of the Siberian tiger, the tawny color is richer and the stripes are darker. White tigers are white colored bengals, they are not albinos and they are not a seperate subspecies of tigers. They have blue eyes, a pink nose, and creamy white furr covered with chocolate colored stripes. White tigers are born to tigers that carry the unusual gene needed for white coloring. Wild white tigers are very rare.

They are usually located on the Mainland of Southeastern Asia and in central and southern India. The white Bengal tiger lives in grassy or swampy areas and forests, where they can be well camouflaged. Those living on islands have almost disappeared; most now live in zoo’s or special wildlife parks. Even though it is illegal, white tigers are hunted by poachers in many Asian countries. Tiger’s body parts are sought for use in traditional Chinese medicine and exotic recipes. As well as their body parts, their coats can be sold for a small fortune, so to many people this is the ideal animal to hunt if they want some fast money.

WHITE TIGER FACTS

White tigers are born to Bengal tigers that carry an unusual gene needed for white coloring. 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 mostly hunt at night. 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. It is belief that if you are born in the Chinese year of the tiger you are unusually lucky. Let’s hope that some of this luck rubs off on the white tiger before it’s too late.