How much do we really know about tigers?Especially the majestic white tigers? Your answer may be a head nod of a no and I am going to be covering all of the things people need to know about these endangered species. To the habitats, its survival tactics,and why this beautiful white fur cat is endangered. Sometimes we don’t know what we have till it’s gone and that why I wanted to do this research on an animal no one really thinks of.
The White Tiger, also known as the White Bengal Tiger is a subspecies of tigers found throughout China and India. Even though Tigers are a big range of mammals, these animals are very rare as the color of their white coat is made from recessive genes that are passed on from their parents which are a lack of pigment pheomelanin.Even though these creatures are a god gift on earth, the White tigers are known to live shorter than the other subspecies of tigers because of the mutated genes. Presently, the White tiger can still be found in quite a few zoos and rescue habitats around the world which is usually the main attraction people come to see from far and wide. The white tiger is considered to be the second largest species of tigers in the world. This mammal can weigh up to 300kg and reaches more than 3 meters in length.Unlike the other white animals in the animal kingdom, the White tiger is not an albino, but they do still carry some form of pigment that creates the beautiful snowy color of their fur. Like other tiger species, the White tiger has black or dark brown stripes on its body.Along with the fur color, the gene carried by the White Tiger’s parents also means that they have blue eyes rather than the green or yellow coloured eyes of normal bengal tigers.The white tigers fur does have a disadvantage with its gorgeous white color, and that’s because it can’t camouflage itself in the jungles like the orange bengal tiger.
Tigers were believed to be evolved by saber tooth tigers about 35 million years ago and became the tigers we know today except we ended up having six subspecies.This prehistoric tiger was the length of about 3 meters, and it stood about 1.1 meters high but the craziest thing about this animal was its teeth, it’s teeth were at maximum of 28 centimeters. The saber tooth tiger has been in and out of research from scientists and found that it is an enormous beast compared to tigers now, researchers today believe that it weighed up to at least 1100 pounds.
The thing about the white tiger research I have done I have yet been able to find anything to do with coevolution.I did believe that the tigers didn’t have coevolution because it is on top of the food chain and doesn’t mask itself to hide from any other animal because the tiger itself isn’t a prey but it is a predator and doesn’t really make any relationships with other animals. But the very sad truth about white tigers though is that it is very close to endangerment with only 4,000 tigers left throughout the world.The white tigers have decreased dramatically, over the past 100 years. Today the bengal tiger is found in small parts of its natural habitat in Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Bhutan. They are found in a variety of environments including swamps, tropical forests, and jungles which all have something in common and that’s that all of these biomes have a great source of freshwater. These big carnivores love there meat including pig, cattle and deer. Which they can eat as much as 40 pounds of meat at one time.Normal orange tigers stripes help conceal them in their habitats, such as grasslands and tropical forests, where branches create an effect that matches the stripes. This enables tigers to remain camouflaged while they stalk their prey.But the white tiger has trouble with doing this since they have a bright white fur as i’ve explained before.But since these big cats have sharp claws, big teeth and a fast reaction time they can catch their prey pretty easily no matter how fast they are. Since a tiger is a mammal and eats meat, it is a endotherm previously known as “warm blooded.”The greatest threat to tigers to survival is humans. Their unique fur serves as a good money maker, and black-markets trades exist for fur coats and rugs.Their bones are even valued in chinese medicine. Excessive hunting has decreased some subspecies, such as South China, Siberian and Sumatran tigers, which are now critically endangered. Researchers believe that white tigers appearance and charm can help preserve the species.Zoos and rescue habitats help animals that are endangered and always have programs to protect them.
Since they were first brought into captivity, White tigers have been bred by people in businesses which many people find it morally questionable and they feel as it could be for profit. There is an issue however, increasing bengal tigers could increase the times tigers enter settlements which causes problems between the tiger and the villagers in the settlements.The only thing that is a good thing in this instance is that it is illegal to shoot or kill a tiger.
Like any other tiger species the white tiger is a lonely animal as this allows this large predator to sneak up on prey more effectively in the jungle. Which means this little fur ball is actually on top of its food chain. Although the White tiger is not nocturnal, they do the majority of their hunting at night. White tigers have amazing hearing and sight which helps them when hunting in the jungle at night. Each tiger marks a huge territory that is marked by urine and claw marks on trees just like bears, and can be up to 75 square miles in size.Male white tiger territories can overlap with those of a number of females. Male white tigers will defend their patch from other males who may be trying to steal their spot. Tigers are loyal animals and will do anything to keep themselves and their families safe .But are we as humans willing to do anything to help it survive before going extinct?
