Facts about the white tiger. White bengal tiger

In nature, the animal is divided into nine subspecies. Currently, only six exist, the rest were exterminated or became extinct.

Subspecies of tigers:

Amur - main habitat - Primorsky and Khabarovsk region Russia, and a small amount is also located in northeast China and northern Korea;
Bengal – habitat India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan;
Indochinese – habitat in southern China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia;
Malay - south of the Malacca Peninsula;
Sumatran – habitat of the island of Sumatra (Indonesia);
Chinese - at present, individuals of this subspecies have practically disappeared, a small number are kept in Chinese reserves;

And extinct subspecies:

Bali tiger– lived only on the territory of the island of Bali, the last individual was killed by hunters in 1937;
Javan tiger– lived on the island of Java, the last representative of the subspecies was killed in 1979;
Transcaucasian tiger– lived in Iran, Armenia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Turkmenistan. Last time A tiger of this subspecies was seen in 1970.

Currently, the most numerous are Bengal tigers, which make up approximately 40% of the total number of animals of this species.

The Bengal tiger is typically red in color with black stripes. But there are also individuals with white fur, which also has dark spots. IN natural environment such individuals rarely survive, since their light color makes it difficult for them to hunt. White tigers easily adapt to captivity and reproduce well.

There is an opinion among people that a tiger with white fur is an albino, but in reality this is not the case. White tigers are a type of Bengal tiger that first appeared in India.

History of the origin of the white tiger

All white tigers currently existing in captivity have one common ancestor - a male Bengal tiger named Mohan. It all started in May 1951, when during a tiger hunt with the participation of the Maharajah of Reva, a tiger’s lair was discovered, in which there were four teenage tiger cubs. Three red tiger cubs were killed, and the fourth, distinguished by its unusual white color and which attracted the attention of the ruler, was left and transported to the palace of the Maharaja. The tiger lived here for 12 years.

The Maharajah of Rewa was very proud that only he had such a unique beast. And he wanted to have more of them. For this purpose, Mohana was brought an ordinary red tigress. However, no matter how many offspring there were after this, not a single tiger cub was white. Until one day a tigress from previous copulations was brought as a bride to a white tiger. As a result of inbreeding (relationship between related individuals), the tigress in 1958 gave birth to an offspring of four kittens, among which one was white.

Since then, the number of white tigers has increased dramatically. Now there was not enough space for all these individuals in the palace, and the ruler of Reva decided to sell the unique animals. White tigers at that time were considered the natural heritage of the country, but several specimens were nevertheless exported outside the country.

So, in 1960, one of the descendants white tiger Mohana came to the USA, in National Park in Washington. A little later they appeared at the Bristol Zoo in the UK. And then they began to spread throughout the globe.

Currently, the number of white tigers is unknown, as they are kept not only in zoos and circuses, but also in private menageries, where it is difficult to monitor their numbers. Largest quantity White tigers are found in their country of origin - India.

Despite the fact that white tigers are born only between related individuals, and this, as a rule, leads to a weakening of the viability of the offspring, this has not yet been observed among white tigers. The birth rate of white tigers is approximately one per 10,000 red-colored individuals.

White Tiger

Physiology of the white tiger

The white tiger differs from the red tiger in its smaller size. Individuals of this species have brown-red, pink or blue eyes. The most common animals are blue eyes.

The tiger has a massive body, elongated in length, with developed muscles and fairly high flexibility, inherent in all animals of the cat family. The front part of the body is more developed than the back, and the animal is higher in the shoulders than in the sacrum. A tiger has four toes on its hind paws and five on its front paws. All of them have retractable claws.

The tiger's round-shaped head is distinguished by a protruding facial part and a rather convex forehead. The animal’s skull is quite massive, large, with widely spaced cheekbones. Small ears have a rounded shape. Vibrissae up to 16.5 cm long and up to 1.5 mm thick are arranged in 4-5 rows and are white, turning brown at the base.

An adult tiger should have 30 teeth, of which 2 canines, reaching a length of up to 8 cm. Such powerful teeth help the predator kill prey. In addition, on the sides of the animal’s tongue there are special tubercles covered with keratinized epithelium, with the help of which the tiger separates the meat from the bones of the prey. These tubercles also help the animal when washing itself.

The white tiger has short, rather dense and low hair. And if an ordinary tiger has various shades of red, then a white tiger has shades from cream to white. The entire surface of the body is covered with dark stripes, which can range from light gray (in some individuals) to completely black. Along the body and neck the stripes are located in a transverse vertical position. The edges of the strip are pointed, or they bifurcate and then join again. In the back, the tiger has more stripes.

Territorial behavior

Tigers are territorial animals, that is, adults lead a solitary lifestyle in their own territory. Invasion into it is subject to fierce resistance from the tiger owner. Animals mark their territory, usually leaving marks on vertical objects.

The size of the territory occupied by a tiger depends on several factors, in particular on the habitat, the density of population of other individuals, the presence of females and prey. On average, 20 square meters is enough for a tigress. km, and for males – 60-100 sq. km. At the same time, in the habitat of the male, there may be separate habitat areas for females.

During the day, tigers constantly move around their territory, periodically updating marks along its borders. On average, a tiger can travel from 9.6 to 41 km per day, and females travel from 7 to 22 km per day.

Although tigresses, like males, have a personal territory, but when invading or crossing boundaries with other females is perceived as normal, tigresses are able to coexist peacefully with each other. While males not only do not tolerate other males living on their territory, but also are aggressive towards individuals who accidentally cross the border of someone else’s territory. However, male tigers can coexist peacefully with females, and in some situations even share prey with them.

Food and hunting

In the natural environment, the main food of tigers are ungulates. For a white tiger it could be deer, wild boars, Indian sambar, etc. Sometimes it happens that a tiger can eat food that is unusual for it in the form of monkeys, hares, pheasants, and in some cases it can even be fish. On average, for adequate nutrition, a tiger needs approximately 50-70 ungulates per year.

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

The tiger hunts animals alone. At the same time, he uses one of two hunting techniques inherent to him - sneaking up on prey or waiting for it in ambush. The first method is most often used by predators in winter time, the second one is more typical in summer. Having tracked the prey, the tiger approaches it from the leeward side so that the wind does not carry the tiger's scent to the animal. The predator moves with careful short steps, and often crouches to the ground. When closest to the prey, the tiger makes several large jumps, thereby reaching the target animal.

In the second method - waiting - the tiger takes cover from the prey, lying in the wind, and when it approaches, it makes a sharp jerk over a short distance.

If the animal being hunted manages to move away from the tiger for 100-150 meters, then the predator stops hunting. During a chase, a tiger can develop a large large animal speed – up to 60 km/h.

When hunting, a tiger can make a jump up to 5 meters high and up to 10 meters long. The tiger can carry caught and killed prey by gripping it with its teeth or throwing it on its back. At the same time, it can carry an animal weighing up to 100 kg. Holding a killed animal weighing 50 kg in its teeth, the predator can overcome an obstacle up to 2 meters high. The tiger moves very large prey by dragging it along the ground. Moreover, the prey can weigh 6-7 times more than the tiger’s weight.

Reproduction

Mating of tigers most often occurs in December-January. In this case, only one male follows the female. If a rival appears, a fight occurs between the males for the right to mate with the female.

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

Most often, a tigress gives birth to its first offspring at the age of 3-4 years, and a female can give birth once every 2-3 years. Gestation of the cubs lasts approximately 97-112 days.

Tiger cubs are born in March-April. In one litter there are most often 2-4 tiger cubs, offspring with one tiger cub are less common, and even less often - 5-6 cubs. The weight of born tiger cubs is 1.3-1.5 kg. The cubs are born blind, but after 6-8 days they begin to see.

For the first six weeks, the cubs feed only on the milk of the tigress. Tiger cubs grow only near their mother; tigresses do not allow male tigers near their offspring, since the male can kill the cubs that are born.

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

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

Over the course of their entire lives, females give birth to about 10-20 tiger cubs, and half of them die in a significant amount of time. at a young age. On average, the life expectancy of a tiger is 26 years.

However, it is worth considering that white tigers are very rarely found in natural conditions.

They predominate more in captivity, where mating occurs between certain representatives of this species. At the same time, if previously for the birth of a white tiger it was necessary to cross tigers with each other family connection, then now white tigers have become quite common, thanks to which it is possible to get white offspring from two white tigers.

White tigers are very popular in zoos. However, zoologists have differing opinions about white tigers. Some believe that any color variation is worthy of attention, while others argue that white tigers are genetic freaks. For the first time, the director of the zoological association, William Conway, spoke against this species of animal, calling white tigers freaks and calling for their exclusion from all zoos.

Nevertheless, the popularity of the white tiger has not waned, and its further spread among various zoos around the world continues.

The white tiger is a representative of the Bengal tiger subspecies with a special coat color. White tigers have white or cream fur with brownish-black stripes and beautiful blue eyes. These tigers are not classified as a separate subspecies - they are also considered Bengal tigers, but with a genetic mutation. These are quite large animals weighing up to 230 kg and with a body length of up to 3 meters.

Distribution and habitats

It is very difficult to see a white tiger in natural conditions; for every ten thousand individuals there is only one tiger with such a rare coloring. In the wild, these tigers were found only in a few regions of India. However, they are kept quite often in zoos.

The first white tiger was caught by man in the middle of the last century. Subsequently, other individuals with white coloring were obtained from him. Now many zoos around the world keep white tigers, all of them are descendants of the tiger that was caught in the last century.

Nutrition

The white tiger, like all other tigers, is a predator. He is able to hunt large prey - wild boars, deer and other animals. In zoos, tigers are fed fresh, raw meat.

Lifestyle

Usually the white tiger is active in the morning and evening, and the rest of the time it prefers to sleep or lie in some convenient secluded place. Typically, a tiger moves slowly on the ground and does not climb trees. Only small tiger cubs can play by climbing trees. The white tiger can swim and loves to bathe in hot weather. He is not afraid of winter and easily tolerates low temperatures.

In captivity, tigers reproduce quite well. Many zoos manage to produce healthy offspring of white tigers, but they do not always produce the same white tiger cubs. Even if both the female and the male are white, they can give birth to red babies.

The contours of each tiger's stripes are individual and never repeat, like human fingerprints.
The white tiger is not an albino because it has dark stripes on its fur and its eyes are not red.
Many white tigers suffer from kidney disease, poor eyesight, strabismus, clubfoot and spinal curvature. All these diseases appear in tigers due to genetic mutations arising due to inbreeding.
Tigers rarely roar, but if they do make a voice, it can be heard at a distance of three kilometers.
There are approximately 100 white tigers in Indian zoos.

White tiger brief information.

Among almost all animal species there are albinos, and tigers are no exception to the rule. All these animals are characterized by certain characteristics - white fur and red eyes, this color is associated with big amount pigment in the body that is responsible for coloring. Most albinos are born in rats, mice and rabbits.

In India, the killing of two real albino tigers with red eyes was recorded. Previously, white tigers lived in South Korea, but there they were completely exterminated. Although in wildlife There are many white tigers living in zoos and zoos; they are not true albinos - their fur color is white, but their eyes are blue or there are brown stripes in the lens.

People, having learned about the existence of albino tigers, came up with a lot of legends; these animals began to be feared and idolized. In Kyrgyzstan, there is a belief that a tiger with white fur can protect a person from any difficulties and problems. Shamans quite often performed rituals during which the tribe asked the white tigers to help them and send them a fertile harvest.

The Chinese believed that white tigers were protectors from evil spirits, therefore, the gates of temples were decorated with their images.

Listen to the voice of the white tiger

In Chinese mythology, the tiger is the guardian of death, and it symbolizes long life. The Chinese even placed statues of tigers in cemeteries, thereby driving out evil spirits.

White tigers are the personification of purity and holiness in many cultures around the world.

Indians showed great respect for white tigers. They were sure that a person who met a white tiger would become rich and happy. If in other countries white tigers were mythical deities, then in India they are considered a real supreme being.

The remaining white tigers today live in zoos. The ancestor of albino tigers is. History shows that in 1951, a hunter discovered a den of tiger cubs, in which there were 4 tiger cubs of the usual colors, and one was completely white.

The majestic white tiger is a natural mutation.

The regular tigers were killed, and the white one was taken to the palace. The unusually colored tiger was named Mohan, and he lived in the palace for 12 years. Everyone admired the beauty of this proud animal, and the ruler dreamed of getting offspring from his favorite. The grown up white tiger was mated with a tigress of the usual red color.

But the birth of the babies was disappointing, and when the male was brought together with his daughter, several red tiger cubs and one white were born. Soon quite a lot of white tigers began to live in the palace, so it was decided to start selling them.

A pair of white tigers - a lion and a lioness.

Although white tigers multiplied rapidly, the Indian government recognized them as the property of the republic. Soon, albinos were sold outside of India. They appeared in national parks Great Britain, America and other countries. The beauty of white tigers amazes everyone.

Habitat

The Bengal white tiger is an animal that is found in Central and Northern India, Burma, Bangladesh and Nepal. It should be noted that “Bengals” most often have a red color. But if a white tiger is born in the wild, 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 to his victims. There is an opinion that these predators come from Siberia, and their color is camouflage in snowy winter conditions. But this is a misconception, because white tigers appeared in India.

Description

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

If we consider the tiger’s entire body as a whole, it impresses with its beauty, development muscle tissue, majesty and unrivaled flexibility. The anterior region of the body is slightly larger than the sacral zone, and it is much better developed, thanks to this the tiger’s posture is so graceful and proud that one involuntarily gets the impression that he is looking at the whole the world from high. Long beautiful tail decorated with evenly distributed wool. The forelimbs end in five fingers, the hind limbs have four, and the claws tend to retract, as in domestic cats.

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

Wool

If we consider the coat of an animal, it varies greatly depending on the homeland of a particular representative of the cat family. Those wild cats who live in southern territories, the skin is covered with relatively short and not abundant fur, but in the northern subspecies the fur is quite fluffy, thick and long.

Mother Nature did a great job decorating these delightful little animals, choosing almost all shades of red as the main color. The projection of the abdomen and limbs are painted predominantly in light colors; it is also possible to see some light areas on the back of the ears. Special attention, of course, a worthy drawing on the chic body of a tiger, which is represented by a large number of stripes. These elements also have different colors, from brown to charcoal black. The stripes themselves are distinguished by their characteristic placement; along the entire body and neck they are drawn transversely vertically, sometimes they can reach the stomach, sometimes only to the side surface. All stripes end pointedly and may occasionally bifurcate. On the back of the mammal’s body, 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 is painted white, only in the corners of the mouth and lower lip it is noted a small amount of black spots. On the forehead, in the parietal and occipital parts, an original pattern is also observed, represented by various transverse stripes, most often having irregular shape. The front part of the ears is covered with white hair, 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 an original ornament, only at the base there is no pattern at all, and the tip is mostly painted black. Usually the tail process is painted with transverse stripes, which, when connected to each other, form solid rings, of which there are usually from 8 to 10. In general, there are at least 100 stripes on the body of a tiger, their sizes and the distance between them depend on the specific species, but here is the pattern that they form themselves - this is a certain business card a specific 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 remain unnoticed by its prey during the hunt. The interesting thing is that the animal's skin has exactly the same pattern, and if the fur is shaved off, it will grow back with an identical pattern.

Origin

The famous white tigers are not a quirk of geneticists, but a naturally occurring variety of Bengal tigers. These are not albinos, as it might seem at first glance (although there are, of course, 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, it is quite rare for common red tigers to give birth to white cubs.

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

Among animals with normal coloring, 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. Similar cases have been recorded in South China. The rest known to man white tigers 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 a light (white) color variation of their color.

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

In captivity, they are bred as a separate species, because color is inherited genetically. White parents always give birth to white tiger cubs, but such offspring are rare from red tigers. It is not surprising that people prefer not to count on luck, but simply to cross white tigers with each other. Therefore, white tigers in captivity have poorer 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 and difficult to hunt. So zoo relatives, surrounded by care, still live longer - up to 26 years.

Lifestyle and nutrition

White Bengal tiger , like its relatives, is a predator. In its natural environment, its food is ungulates. These can be deer, wild boars, Indian sambars, etc. But he can also eat a hare, pheasant, monkey and even fish. On average, he 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 for a considerable time without food. 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 prey in ambush or sneaking up on it. The predator moves in short steps very carefully, often crouching to the ground. Approaches tracked prey from the leeward side. Then he makes several large jumps, reaching the desired object.

If the animal 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 make a jump up to 10 m long and 5 m high. Having caught and killed the victim, he carries it, holding it in his teeth or dragging it along the ground. In this case, the weight of the killed animal may exceed it own weight 6-7 times.

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

It is worth considering that white tigers are very rare in natural conditions, more prevalent in zoos where mating occurs between representatives of this species.

Reproduction

Mating of tigers most often occurs in December-January. In this case, only one male follows the female. If a rival appears, a fight occurs between the males for the right to mate with the female.

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

Most often, a tigress gives birth to its first offspring at the age of 3-4 years, and a female can give birth once every 2-3 years. Gestation of the cubs lasts approximately 97-112 days. Tiger cubs are born in March-April. In one litter there are most often 2-4 tiger cubs, offspring with one tiger cub are less common, and even less often - 5-6 cubs. The weight of born tiger cubs is 1.3-1.5 kg. The cubs are born blind, but after 6-8 days they begin to see.

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

Over the course of their entire lives, females give birth to about 10-20 tiger cubs, and half of them die at a much younger age. On average, the life expectancy of a tiger is 26 years.

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

Many people believe that such an unusual coloring will not give white tigers the right to survive in nature, but this is not so. White tigers have long existed in the wild and are excellent survivors. 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 at the end of the 19th century - in the early twentieth century, their shooting was common. And the killed tigers were already adults, healthy and well-fed, which means they survived well in the jungle and were good hunters. It is not clear why, but white tiger cubs develop faster than their red counterparts and adults are larger and stronger than red tigers. And also more dexterous and faster.

Many 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 the wild - they all live in zoos.

How to breed white tigers in captivity?

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

This is mainly a failure of the immune system, strabismus, kidney problems, allergies. And, note, these anomalies are not at all related to 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 found not only in circuses and zoos, but also among 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 planning to create a white tiger reserve, where tigers will be sent to live in the wild.

In each individual, the contours of the stripes have an individual configuration, and are never repeated, like fingerprints in humans.
White tigers rarely growl, but their voice can be heard up to three kilometers away.
While 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 is the most ancient amulet depicting a white tiger.
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.
In India, there is a belief that by seeing a white tiger with your own eyes, you can find complete happiness and enlightenment.
The director of the New Delhi Zoo 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 size gene in the population.
There are only a few hundred white tigers in zoos around the world; about a hundred of these tigers live in zoos in India.
The modern 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.
There is no official scientific confirmation of the existence of white Amur tigers. However, there are unconfirmed cases of sightings of white tigers in regions where Amur tigers live.
White Amur tiger today it is the result of crossing a white Bengal tiger with an Amur tiger.

Video

Sources

http://dlyakota.ru/23445-belye-tigry.html http://www.13min.ru/drugoe/zver-belyj-tigr/#Reproduction https://zveri.guru/zhivotnye/hischniki-otryada-koshachih /belyy-tigr-ekzoticheskoe-zhivotnoe.html#pitanie https://masterok.livejournal.com/581543.html

June 30th, 2013 , 09:58 pm

Tiger Color Variations

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 golden, black and Maltese tigers? Today I will tell you about them :)

Golden Tiger

The golden tiger is the most rare color variation caused by a recessive gene. Such representatives of tigers differ slightly from their relatives large size and softer golden fur with orange stripes, black stripes can only be seen on some individuals at 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 golden color and periodically interbred with its offspring. The color that appeared served as additional camouflage for such tigers living in areas rich in clay soils. On this moment There are about 30 golden tigers in captivity.

Black Tiger

The black tiger is a rare color variation of the tiger and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies. Black tigers are named because of pseudomelanosis. The black stripes of pseudomelanistic 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. Melanistic tigers, unlike black tigers, are uniformly black without stripes. Melanistic tiger was captured only once; now this image is lost.

Maltese (blue) tiger

Artistic representation of a Maltese tiger

The existence of the Maltese (blue) tiger has not been proven, but reports of encounters with it periodically come from the Chinese province of Fujian and Korea. Based on these reports, the tiger has bluish fur with dark gray stripes. Possibly due to illegal hunting of tigers in China, the blue variety of tigers 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 search is described in the book “The Blue Tiger” by Roy Chappen Andrews (1924): “The color of the animal is strikingly beautiful. The main color has a delicate Maltese tint, changing to a light gray-blue towards the bottom. The stripes stand out clearly, like an ordinary yellow tiger.” . A later message about maltese tiger came from a US serviceman during the 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 and brown stripes on their white fur and blue eyes. This coloration is very rare among wild animals, but is often common in captive populations. For 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 lair of a tigress. This tiger was crossed with a female of normal color, who gave birth to 4 red tiger cubs. The white tiger was then bred with one of his daughters, and in a litter of three cubs, two turned out to be white. Thus, all white tigers kept in captivity are descendants of one individual. There are currently about 130 white tigers in zoos.

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