White Tigers - The truth about their existence
White tigers are extremely fascinating creatures to look at. They are sometimes called “Bengal tigers” and having usually blue eyes which are also sometimes green, an unusual pink nose and creamy white fur with black, gray or chocolate colored stripes. There under 200 white tigers left in the world and they are popular at zoos and used as showcase animals. The Las Vegas show “Siegfried and Roy” are famous for using these trained white tigers at their performance. Despite what people may think, these are not endangered animals.The color of white tigers is due to a recessive gene. Their gene for their unusual color is usually associated with Bengals, even though Bengals have the normal orange and black colors. Note that they are not a subspecies of a Bengal. Also, despite what some may think, white tigers are not of an albino species either. Since white tigers are not actually pure in color, they are sometimes called “chinchillas” as so not to confuse anyone.
Because their gene pool is so increasingly small, there are many white tigers that suffer from health problems because of inbreeding. Because of this, some zoos will not breed two white tigers together anymore. In some areas, some of the problems that have occurred as a result of inbreeding include crossed eyes, postural problems, a weakened immune system and a poor tolerance to anesthesia. Other problems include clubbed feet, abnormal kidneys, and a twisted neck.
White tigers are about 8 to 10 feet long and weigh approximately 400-569 pounds. Females are a little smaller. They are about 7 to 8 feet long and weigh around 350 pounds. and Their coat is flatter than that of a Siberian and their color is richer and stripes are darker. When they have a litter, it ranges from one to six cubs which usually stay with their mother until the second year after their birth.
Outside of the zoos, White tigers are found along the mainland of Southeast Asia and in central and southern India. They live in grassy and swampy areas because this helps camouflage them. They are excellent swimmers but very poor climbers. Even though they are slow runners, they are quick enough to catch their prey and hunt mostly at night.
Although they are exceptionally beautiful animals, they have no purpose of conservation. They only thing they do at this point is to increase attendance at the zoos. The inbreeding of these animals is not encouraged and there are programs that are active in trying to prevent the inbreeding from occurring. If you would like to read more information about this kind of tiger, there are several very websites on the internet. Just do a search for their page and you’ll be connected in an instant.