The white tiger is one of the largest representatives of the cat family. This is a very dangerous predator with a strong, flexible and muscular body. Dexterity and ingenuity. There is practically no chance for a tiger’s prey to survive. However, tigers are very careful about their offspring. They tremblingly guard their territory.
The origin of the species and description
Photo: White Tiger
A mammal is an animal from the order of cats. Predator. Belong to the genus Panthera and is one of its brightest representatives of this genus. The tiger population originates from the Pleistocene, the remains of the found predators are up to 1.82 million years old. The first remains of ancient tigers were found on the island of Java in Asia. It used to be believed that China was the birthplace of Tigers, however, recent research in this area has refuted this theory. And also the remains of tigers of the late Pleistocene period were found in China, India, Altai and Siberia on the territory of Japan and Sakhalin.
Video: White tiger
According to archaeological data, it is known that the tiger separated from the line of ancestors more than 2 million years ago. Much earlier than other representatives of this class. Scientists also know that the first ancestors of tigers were much larger than modern representatives of this class. The modern white tiger was first discovered in 1951.
The color of the tiger is isolated by mutations, and is very rare in wildlife. This species spread by crossing a white tiger with a yellow female. Parents with the usual color, sometimes white offspring are born. In the modern world, white tigers successfully live and breed in nurseries and zoos.
Appearance and features
Photo: Animal white tiger
The white tiger is a very large and strong animal. Dangerous predator. The male white tiger weighs from 180 to 270 kg, depending on the place of residence of the animal, and the lifestyle, the weight and height of the animal may be greater. There were males weighing up to 370 kg. It is known that the animal that lives on the continents is much larger than the tigers living on the islands.
Features of the body structure of the white tiger:
- The height at the withers is 1.17 m. The height of adult males is approximately 2 ,3-2.5 m;
- White tiger females are smaller in weight and size;
- The weight of an adult female is 100-179 kg. Growth from 1.8 to 2.2 m;
- Tigers have a developed muscular body. Moreover, the front part of the body in tigers is more developed than the back part;
- The average head size of an adult male is about 210 mm. Tigers have small, rounded ears, with white hairs on the inside of the ear;
- The iris of the eyes is gray-blue. Tigers see well in the dark.
Since the tiger is a predatory animal, it has a developed jaw with sharp fangs. An adult tiger has 30 teeth. The formula for the arrangement of teeth in a tiger is as follows: 2 large fangs and 6 incisors, 1 painting tooth and 2 premolar teeth are located below. There are 3 premolar teeth and 1 painter on top.
Tigers have large developed fangs about 9 cm in size. These fangs help to kill the victim and tear apart the meat.
The coat of tigers is warm and dense. Tigers living in cold climates have thicker coats. The cover is low, the coat is white. Hairs are sparse. On gray smoky wool there are black stripes. There are about 100 black stripes on the entire body of the animal. It should be noted that white tigers are very rare, and they acquired their color due to a mutation.
How long does a white tiger live?
On average, in wildlife, tigers live from 14 to 17 years. However, there are also centenarians who live much longer. In the conditions of the reserve, the life of a tiger is several years longer.
Where do white tigers live?
Photo: White tiger from the Red Book
The habitat of the white tiger is the same as that of other Bengal tigers. The natural habitat of this species is Northern and Central India, Nepal. Ecological region Terai Duar. Banks of the Ganges and Bangladesh. Representatives of this genus are found in Asia. Where do they lead their population from. Java, Afghanistan, Iran and Hindustan.
White tigers mostly live in captivity, but in nature this species occurs in the amount of 1 individual per 10,000 tigers with a normal color.
What does the white tiger eat?
Photo: Rare animal white tiger
The tiger is a predatory animal, and the diet of big cats mainly consists of meat. White tigers love to eat hoofed animals.
The main prey of tigers is:
- deer;
- roe deer;
- boars;
- moose;
- tapirs;
- musk deer.
Also, tigers can sometimes eat birds. Most often these are pheasants and partridges, small herbivorous hares and other animals. And, of course, every cat loves fish. Tigers are not afraid of water and are happy to catch prey from it. White tigers spend quite a lot of time hunting.
In summer, a tiger can lie in ambush for quite a long time, hunting down its prey. The tiger is a neat and rather cunning animal, it comes to its prey with small and neat steps. Hunting is carried out from the leeward side, so that the victim could smell his scent. Having gained confidence that the prey is unable to escape in a couple of jumps, the predator overtakes the prey.
Tiger for small animals is a real death machine. It’s almost impossible to run away from him. Tigers are fast and agile. While running, their speed is 60 km/h. Having overtaken the victim, the tiger throws it to the ground and breaks the neck and spine. After that, the tiger carries the dead animal in its teeth to its lair, where it tears it apart with its fangs.
Peculiarities of character and lifestyle
Photo: White Tiger
Adult tigers are quite aggressive animals vigilantly guarding their territories and not letting strangers into their possessions. Tigers mark their possessions by leaving urine marks everywhere on bushes, trees, rocks. Male tigers live and hunt alone. Having sensed a stranger in his territory, the male will react to him very aggressively, and will try to drive the stranger out of the territory. Apart from other tigers, the tiger has no other predators.
Young tigers live alone until it’s time to breed. Tigers are polygamous. And with one female there is one male. Tigers are quite family animals. They worry about their offspring, create a den, protect their offspring. They hunt and protect females and brood.
In relation to humans, tigers are also aggressive. Meeting a man with a tiger in wildlife means certain death. In reserves and zoos, animals are less aggressive and allow a person to take care of themselves. Training a tiger is very difficult and dangerous. The tiger is a wild animal and domestication of this species is almost impossible. However, in America there are still cases of tigers living in houses, but these are more often the offspring of circus animals whose parents are already accustomed to people.
Social structure and reproduction
Photo: White Tiger Cub
Tigers live alone and unite in families for the breeding season. Consisting of a male, female and brood. Most often, the male pursues the female, showing with a certain grimace that he is ready for mating. But the fact that females themselves come to males is not uncommon. If several males claim one female, a fight occurs between them. The fight may end in the death of one of the animals. The strongest gets the female.
Tigers mate several times a year. This usually happens in December or January. Although usually it does not depend on the season. The male understands that the female is ready for mating by the smell of the female’s urine. Mating occurs several times. The first litter is brought by a young female white tiger at the age of about 4 years. Most often, a second brood is born after a few years. The pregnancy of a female tiger lasts about 103 days.
The tigress arranges her lair for a long time, for the birth of cubs. Making sure it’s completely safe. After all, over time, the tigress will go hunting leaving the cubs in the den. For one litter, 3 or 4 tiger cubs are born. Tiger cubs appear blind, and for the first six months they are fed with mother’s milk. Over time, they also begin to go hunting with their mother.
White tigers are rarely born, both heterozygous orange parents with white ancestors have a 25% chance of producing white offspring. Offspring where one parent is white and the other is yellow may be white or may be yellow. The probability of a white tiger being born is 50%.
Natural enemies of white tigers
Photo: White Tiger The Red Book
Because the White Tiger is a large and dangerous animal, it has few enemies.
The natural enemies of the white tiger include:
- Elephants. An elephant can trample a tiger, although elephants do not experience aggression towards these animals and are able to coexist peacefully side by side. An elephant attacks a tiger only when frightened, sensing danger, or receiving an order from a person. In India, people used to hunt tigers on elephants. Killing tigers with weapons. It was the safest form of hunting for humans.
- Brown bears. A brown bear can rarely cope with a large adult tiger, and vice versa, bears killed by a tiger are often found. But a bear can kill an immature young or a weakened female.
- Man. The main danger to tigers comes from humans. Destruction of natural habitats of animals by man. The construction of cities by cutting down the jungle and forests. The decline in the population is largely due to the hunting of tigers. In Chinese medicine, the fangs, organs and tissues of tigers are used. And also precious animal skins are an adornment in rich houses, like stuffed animals. For a long time in India, tiger hunting in the 19th and early 20th centuries was massive.
Population and species status
Photo: Animal white tiger
Every year, the tiger population is rapidly declining. There are only 6470 individuals worldwide. There are only 400 Amur tigers. White tigers are rare and on the verge of extinction. The destruction of natural habitats, the construction of cities and roads lead to the fact that white tigers are becoming less and less. In addition, animal hunting and poaching has caused irreparable harm to tiger populations around the world.
The white tiger species is listed in the Red Book, trapping and hunting tigers is prohibited. Status of the species in the Red Book «endangered species». White tigers are carefully protected in all countries and hunting is prohibited.
White tiger protection
Photo: White tiger from the Red Book
The following measures have been taken to save the endangered species of White tigers:
- A complete ban on hunting for tigers of any breed has been introduced. White tigers are highly protected around the world. In India, white tigers are a national treasure. Hunting for tigers in the modern world is carried out only by poachers and is prosecuted by law. The killing of tigers is punishable by law and is punishable by fines and imprisonment.
- Arrangement of reserves. As mentioned earlier, white tigers mostly live in nature reserves. Zoologists help maintain the population of this species by crossing white tigers with regular-colored tigers. In the reserves, animals live quite comfortably and they are able to breed. Almost all representatives of this species that are not kept in reserves have one ancestor. This is a white tiger named Mohan. Over time, the offspring were transported to reserves around the world, where white offspring were also born from them.
- Radio tracking and animal tracking systems. This method of animal tracking is used to keep the animal safe and better understand the animal’s habits and study the behavior of the tiger in the natural environment. A collar with a special tracker is put on the animal, which transmits a GPS signal. Thus, a person can track the location of the animal. Helps to monitor the health status of the animal and prevent serious diseases among animals. Most often, this system is used in large reserves.
The white tiger is a real miracle of nature. Dangerous, but as time has shown, a very vulnerable beast. A white tiger without human support can simply disappear from the face of the earth within a few decades, which is why it is so important to protect nature and maintain the tiger population. Let’s save this animal on the planet for a new generation.
