The White Tiger

The White Tiger

The White Tiger is said to have originated in India during the HB Mughal period. It now lives in the frozen tundra of the Soviet Far East, in the humid jungles of Malaya and Indonesia, and in the hot, hardwood forests of India. Even though it has been illegal to hunt and kill these animals for over 100 years, people are still finding ways to slay these amazing creatures. White tigers are born to Bengal tigers that carry an unusual gene, causing them to be white. They are good swimmers, but poor climbers. These tigers have blue eyes and a pink nose. White tigers can eat up to 40 pounds of meat at a time (that’s how much my sister weighs!), but they do not eat again for several days.

Sadly, there are only about 200 white tigers left in the wild. They are practically extinct, and most of the living ones are in captivity and in zoos. In the wild, white tigers live for about 10 to 15 years, and in zoos they live about 16 to 20 years. The main causes of their extinction are poaching, habitat loss, and population fragmentation. In the last 100 years, only 12 white tigers have been seen in India, which made about 1 white tiger for 1,000 pigmented (meaning orange) tigers.

Maximar