White tigers. White tiger White tiger what is the name of the breed

The Bengal (white) tiger is a rare subspecies, included in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Bengal tiger lives in North and Central India, Nepal and Burma. He also lives in the Sundarbans (near the mouth of the Ganges) and Bangladesh. Bengal tigers of the usual red color sometimes give birth to cubs with white hair, which, however, retains dark stripes. In nature, they rarely survive - such animals cannot hunt successfully, as they are too noticeable. White tigers are specially bred for circuses and zoos.

Among animals with normal normal coloration, there are white individuals, which are called albinos, however, this is a misconception, the white tiger is not an albino. These animals have so little pigment that their eyes look red because of the 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 dead. Similar cases have been recorded in South China. The rest of the white tigers known to man 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 the light (white) color variation of their color. Their life expectancy is shorter compared to ordinary tigers and they have more fragile health. Under natural conditions, it is more difficult for a white tiger to survive, since it is given out by a light color during the hunt. Many people believe that these predators originated from Siberia, and the white color is a camouflage when living in snowy conditions. In fact, white tigers originated in India.

For millennia white tigers seemed to people beings shrouded in a halo of mystery. Sometimes they instilled fear, often became objects of religious worship. In Kyrgyzstan, they talked about the white tiger, which is able to solve all the difficult problems of people. During the ritual dance, Kyrgyz shamans, falling into a deep trance, turned to the tiger with a request for help. In medieval China, a white tiger was painted on the gates of Taoist temples to protect against evil spirits. The white tiger personified a certain guardian of the land of the dead, symbolized longevity. Stone statues in the form of a tiger were placed on Chinese graves: the demons must have been terrified of such a “guard”.

And the Indians firmly believed that if a person sees a white tiger, he will be granted enlightenment and complete happiness. It was from India, where the white tiger was perceived as a super-being, quite material, and by no means mythical, that the white tiger set off on a journey around the world.

All white tigers in captivity today are descended from one common ancestor, a male Bengal named Mohan.
In May 1951, the Maharajah of Reva was hunting tigers. The hunters stumbled upon a lair with four teenage tiger cubs, one of which attracted the ruler's attention with its unusual white coloration. Three red tiger cubs were killed, but the white cub was spared. In the palace of Maharaja Govindagari, the tiger, who was named Mohan, lived for about 12 years.

The ruler of Reva was proud that he had such a rare animal and he wanted to have more of them to the wonder of the whole world. When Mohan grew up, he was "married" to a female - an ordinary, red one. She periodically brought tiger cubs, but, alas, there were no whites among them! This continued until one of Mohan's daughters was brought together with dad, that is, they performed the very inbreeding (closely related crossing), which, although it weakens the vitality of the descendants, fixes the necessary signs. The result was not long in coming: in November 1958, in a litter of 4 cubs, one was white.

After that, the number of such animals in the palace began to increase rapidly. Even the maharaja was unable to maintain a large group, and it was decided to sell the "surplus". Despite the fact that the Indian government declared rare animals a national treasure, several tigers were soon taken out of the country.

In 1960, one of Mohan's sons left for the US National Park in Washington. Some time later White tigers ended up in the UK, at the Bristol Zoo. Spectacular cats began their triumphal procession around the world.

How many of them are there in the world now? No one can say the exact figure, since these animals are kept not only in zoos and circuses, but also in private menageries. Despite the close relationship of all white tigers, no significant weakening of the viability of these animals has yet been observed. Most whites tigers lives in the homeland of their ancestor Mohan - in India. They can be seen in almost every Indian zoo. They are in America and Europe.

The frequency of appearance of white tigers is 1 individual per 10,000 with normal coloration. White tigers breed excellently in captivity.

Now there are about 130 white tigers in zoos around the world.

In 1987, an image of a tiger was discovered in the graves of the central Chinese province of Henan, its age is approximately 6000 years. The tiger talisman was made from shells and was found next to the body. This was the earliest appearance of a white tiger as a talisman.

Popularity white tigers gradually began to lead to the fact that there were too many of them, and now special authorities monitor their population.

The white tiger is a recessive mutant of the Bengal tiger that occasionally occurs naturally in Assam, Bengal, Bihar and especially in the former Rewa state. Compared to normal-colored tigers without the white gene, white tigers are generally larger than normal, both at birth and at maturity. We bring to your attention a selection of photographs of beautiful white tigers.

1. Kailash Sankhala, director of the New Delhi Zoo in the 1960s, said that "perhaps one of the functions of the white gene is to maintain the size gene in the population, if that is ever needed, of course." (Tambako The Jaguar)

2. In the subspecies of the Bengal tiger, there were also individuals with black stripes. The same phenomenon can be found among individuals of the Amur tiger, and there have been cases in history when such individuals appeared in other species. (Tambako The Jaguar)

3. Now there are several hundred white tigers in zoos around the world, about a hundred of them in India. (Tambako The Jaguar)

4. However, their numbers are increasing. (Tambako The Jaguar)

5. The current population of white tigers includes pure Bengal and hybrid Bengal-Amur, but it is not clear whether the recessive white gene came only from Bengal tigers, or if the ancestors of the Amur tigers also took part in this. (Tambako The Jaguar)

6. The white tiger is born as a result of the homozygous occurrence of a recessive allelomorph in the genome. (Tambako The Jaguar)

7. It is estimated that one in 15,000 Bengal tigers in the wild is born white. (Tambako The Jaguar)

8. The existence of white Amur tigers has not been scientifically documented, despite occasional anecdotal evidence that they have been sighted in regions where Amur tigers live. (Nancy Chan)

9. It is possible that the white mutation does not exist in the nature of Amur tiger populations: not a single white Amur tiger has yet been born in captivity, despite the fact that these subspecies are actively used for reproduction (with a large percentage of outbreeding between different hereditary lines of Amur tigers in order to preserve genetics). (Nancy Chan)

10. The recessive allelomorph periodically becomes homozygous during such a crossing, and in this case, a white cub may be born to "ordinary" parents, but so far there is no evidence for this. (Nancy Chan)

11. Known white Amur tigers in captivity are not actually purebreds. (Nancy Chan)

12. This is the result of crossing Amur tigers with Bengal tigers. (Karl Drilling)

13. The gene for white coat color is quite common among Bengal tigers, but the natural birth of a white Bengal tiger in captivity is still a rare case. (Dpfunsun)

14. The white tiger is not considered a subspecies of the tiger, rather it is a mutational variant of the existing subspecies of the tiger. (Mandy)

15. If a purebred Amur white tiger is ever born, it will not be selectively crossed as part of conservation programs. (Andrea Mitchell)

16. Although, most likely, it will still be selectively crossed so that more white Amur tigers are born. (Frost Photography)

17. Due to their popularity, white tigers are always the stars of zoos. (In Cherl Kim)

Quite a large, beautiful animal, brought into Red Book. This is a representative of the subspecies of the Bengal tiger with a congenital mutation.

The white Bengal tiger is often inferior in size to its relatives.

Growth retardation can be observed from childhood. It has a white or cream coat with brown and black stripes and blue eyes.

Sometimes observed birth defects: clubfoot, strabismus, poor eyesight, curved spine.

animal white tiger

Unusual coat color caused by the presence of recessive genes. Zoologists have different opinions about this subspecies.

Some people think that the white tiger is just genetic freak, which there is nothing to demonstrate, and even more so - to breed. Others prove that such individuals as a natural phenomenon cannot be rejected.

General nature lovers love white bengal tigers. They are the ones who get the most attention in the zoo.

This animal is not an albino, so a real albino tiger cannot have brown and black stripes. If both parents are orange, but they have certain genes, then the probability of offspring with white fur will be approximately 25%. In the case when one of the parents is orange and the other is white, the chance of having a light-colored tiger cub increases to 50%.

Physiology

This predator has a massive body elongated in length. He has excellent musculature and excellent flexibility, characteristic of all representatives of the cat family. The back of his body is less developed than the front. On the front paws of the beast there are five fingers, on the hind limbs - four. All fingers have retractable claws. The head is distinguished by a convex forehead and a rather protruding front part, a massive large skull and widely spaced cheekbones. The ears are small and rounded.

An adult of this species must have 30 teeth, of which there are two fangs up to 8 cm long. On the sides of the tongue of the animal there are tubercles covered with keratinized epithelium, which help to separate the meat from the bone of the prey. The skin of the animal is covered with a rather dense, low hairline.

habitats

In natural conditions, it is very difficult to see a white tiger. Out of ten thousand individuals, only one has this color. In nature, these animals are found in Nepal, Central and Northern India, on the territory of Sundabaran and Budapest.

The first white tiger was caught in the middle of the last century. Subsequently, other individuals of this color were obtained from him. Today, representatives of this species are found in many zoos around the world.

Tigers are territorial animals. On their territory, they lead a solitary lifestyle. The invasion of a stranger is subjected to fierce resistance. Predators mark their territory by leaving marks on vertical objects. The area of ​​the territory depends on:

• habitats;
• availability of prey;
• population density of other individuals;
• the presence of females.

At the same time - in the "possession" of the male there may be separate areas where tigresses live.

Females, unlike males, can easily coexist with individuals of the same sex in the same territory.

Nutrition and lifestyle

white bengal tiger, like his relatives - a predator.

In the natural environment, its food is ungulates. These can be deer, wild boars, Indian sambars, etc. But he can also eat a hare, a pheasant, a monkey and even a fish. For a complete diet, 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 a long 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 methods - it waits for the victim in an ambush or sneaks up on it. The predator moves with short steps very carefully, often falling to the ground. Approaches tracked prey from the leeward side. Then he makes several large jumps, reaching the desired object.

If the animal being hunted by the tiger 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, up to 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 can exceed its own weight by 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 convenient place. It easily tolerates low temperatures and is not afraid of winter, knows how to swim and loves to swim in hot weather.

Tigers breed well in captivity, so many zoos manage to get quite healthy offspring. However, even in cases where both parents are white, their babies can be born red.

The tigress is capable of fertilization several times a year. The first offspring most often the female brings at the age of 3-4 years. Bearing children lasts 97-112 days. She can give birth 2-3 times a year. There are 2-4 tiger cubs in one brood. The weight of tiger cubs is 1.3-1.5 kg.

Cubs are born blind, beginning to see clearly after 6-8 days. For the first six weeks, cubs feed only on mother's milk. They grow up near the mother, who does not let the males in, as they can kill the born babies. Eight-week-old tiger cubs are able to follow their mother. But they become completely independent only at the age of 18 months.

It should be borne in mind that white tigers are very rare in natural conditions, more prevalent in zoos where mating occurs between representatives of this species.

Since ancient times, white tigers have been endowed with magical powers and have been surrounded by numerous beliefs. They instilled fear, becoming objects of worship. Some interesting facts about these animals:

1. For each individual, the contours of the stripes have an individual configuration, and they never repeat, like human fingerprints.
2. White tigers rarely growl, but his voice is heard not a distance of three kilometers.
3. While exploring graves in the province of Henan in the late 80s, archaeologists found a drawing of a tiger. It was a shell talisman lying near the body, about 6 thousand years old. Today it is the most ancient amulet depicting a white tiger.
4. In Kyrgyzstan, this animal is said to be able to solve any difficulties and problems. While dancing a ritual dance, the shamans fell into a trance and asked the tiger for help.
5. In India, there is a belief that seeing a white tiger with your own eyes, you can find complete happiness and enlightenment.
6. All white tigers in captivity today have a common ancestor, the Bengal male Mohan.

From the history

In the spring of 1951, while hunting, Maharajah of Reva saw four teenage tiger cubs. One of them attracted attention with its unusual color. The red cubs were killed, and the white cub was taken to the palace, where he lived for about 12 years.

The white tiger was named Mohan. The ruler was proud to have such a rare beast. Wishing to get offspring, Mohana was "married" to an ordinary red female, who periodically brought cubs, but there were no whites among them. And only after one of his daughters was brought to him in 1958, one of the cubs was born white.

Subsequently, the number of such animals began to increase, and it was decided to sell them. Despite the fact that white tigers were declared a rare national treasure of India, soon several of their representatives were taken out of the country. A little time passed and white tigers ended up in the Bristol Zoo in the UK. Spectacular, unusual mammals began their march around the world.

The first white tiger appeared in Russia in 2003, having arrived from Holland. It was a five year old male. A year later, a "bride" was brought to him from Sweden. This couple in 2005 gave birth to offspring - three white tiger cubs.

The white tiger is an individual of the Bengal tiger with a congenital mutation (not considered a separate subspecies). The mutation results in an all-white coloration - a tiger with black and brown stripes on white fur and blue eyes. This coloration is very rare among wild animals.

(Tambako The Jaguar)

The frequency of appearance of white tigers is 1 individual per 10,000 with a normal color. Reports of white tigers have been reported for many decades from Assam, Bengal, Bihar, and especially from the territory of the former native principality of Rewa.

The first discovery of a white tiger in nature, however, is attributed to 1951, when one of the hunters took a white male tiger from the den he found and then unsuccessfully tried to get the same offspring from him from a female with a normal color, but then still succeeded in creating the second generation of white tigers. Over time, the population has expanded significantly: all white tigers that are now kept in captivity are descendants of the same found individual and are related to each other. Now there are about 130 white tigers in captivity, of which about 100 are in India. The last white tiger was shot in the wild in 1958.

The opinion that white tigers are albinos is erroneous - in fact, this coloration is caused by the presence of recessive genes (a real albino tiger would not have black stripes). If both parents are heterozygous, that is, orange, but are carriers of the genes, then the chance to get offspring from them in the form of a white tiger is 25%. In parents, one of which is a white tiger, and the other is an orange heterozygous, a similar chance increases already to 50%. If one of the parents is white and the other is orange, but homozygous, then all the offspring will be orange, but carriers of the gene.

White tigers tend to be smaller (since childhood) than normal Bengal tigers, and often have various genetic defects, including strabismus, poor eyesight, clubfoot, curved spine and neck, and kidney problems. However, the claim that infant mortality among white tigers is extremely high is not true.

White tigers are popular not only in zoos, where they often attract everyone's attention and therefore are considered a valuable specimen, but also in popular culture: in particular, some musical groups dedicated songs to them.

In the subspecies of the Bengal tiger, there were also individuals with black stripes. The same phenomenon can be found among individuals of the Amur tiger, and there have been cases in history when such individuals appeared in other species. (Tambako The Jaguar)

Now around the world there are several hundred white tigers in zoos, about a hundred of them in India. (Tambako The Jaguar)

However, their numbers are increasing. (Tambako The Jaguar)

The current population of white tigers includes pure Bengal and hybrid Bengal-Amur, but it is not clear whether the recessive white gene came only from Bengal tigers, or if the ancestors of the Amur tigers also took part in this. (Tambako The Jaguar)

The existence of white Amur tigers has not been scientifically documented, despite occasional anecdotal evidence that they have been sighted in regions where Amur tigers live. (Nancy Chan)

It is possible that the white mutation does not exist in the nature of Amur tiger populations: not a single white Amur tiger has yet been born in captivity, despite the fact that these subspecies are actively used for reproduction (with a large percentage of outbreeding between different hereditary lines of Amur tigers in order to preserve genetics) . (Nancy Chan)

The recessive allelomorph periodically becomes homozygous during such a crossing, and in this case, a white cub may be born to "ordinary" parents, but so far there is no evidence for this. (Nancy Chan)

Known white Amur tigers in captivity are not actually purebreds. (Nancy Chan)

This is the result of crossing Amur tigers with Bengal tigers. (Karl Drilling)

The white coat color gene is fairly common among Bengal tigers, but the natural birth of a white Bengal tiger in captivity is still a rare occurrence. (Dpfunsun)

If a purebred Amur white tiger is ever born, it will not be selectively crossed as part of conservation programs. (Andrea Mitchell)

Although, most likely, it will still be selectively crossed so that more white Amur tigers are born. (Frost Photography)

Due to their popularity, white tigers are always the stars of zoos. (In Cherl Kim)

(Arjan Haverkamp)

The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris bengalensi) is a special subspecies of the tiger that lives in North and Central India, Burma, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Sundarbans (near the mouth of the Ganges River).

This is the largest of all tigers: the maximum weight recorded by scientists was 388.7 kilograms, which is five kilograms more than the largest weighted Amur tiger.

The famous white tigers are not a quirk of genetics, but a naturally occurring variety of the Bengal tiger. These are not albinos, as it might seem at first glance (although albinos are also found among tigers, of course) - 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, white cubs are born to ordinary red tigers quite rarely.

Since ancient times, these unusual creatures have been endowed with magical abilities and surrounded by numerous beliefs. They were revered in Kyrgyzstan, China and, of course, in 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 normal coloration, there are white individuals, which are called albinos. These animals have so little pigment that their eyes look red because of the 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 dead. Similar cases have been recorded in South China. The rest of the white tigers known to man 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 the light (white) color variation of their color.

Bengal tigers of the usual red color sometimes give birth to cubs with white hair, which, however, retains dark stripes. In nature, they rarely survive - 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 the color is inherited genetically. White parents always give birth to white cubs, but red tigers rarely have such offspring. 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, it is difficult for him to hunt. So zoo relatives, surrounded by care, still live longer - up to 26 years.

All white tigers in captivity are descended from a single male. A tiger named Mohan belonged to an Indian Maharaja.

In May 1951, the Maharajah of Reva was hunting tigers. The hunters stumbled upon a lair with four teenage tiger cubs, one of which attracted the ruler's attention with its unusual white coloration. Three red tiger cubs were killed, but the white cub was spared. In the palace of Maharaja Govindagari, the tiger, who was named Mohan, lived for about 12 years.
The ruler of Reva was proud that he had such a rare animal and he wanted to have more of them to the wonder of the whole world. When Mohan grew up, he was "married" to a female - an ordinary, red one. She periodically brought tiger cubs, but, alas, there were no whites among them! This continued until one of Mohan's daughters was brought together with dad, that is, they performed the very inbreeding (closely related crossing), which, although it weakens the vitality of the descendants, fixes the necessary signs. The result was not long in coming: in November 1958, in a litter of 4 cubs, one was white. After that, the number of such animals in the palace began to increase rapidly. Even the maharaja was unable to maintain a large group, and it was decided to sell the "surplus". Despite the fact that the Indian government declared rare animals a national treasure, several tigers were soon taken out of the country. In 1960, one of Mohan's sons left for the US National Park in Washington. Some time later, white tigers ended up in the UK, at the Bristol Zoo. Spectacular cats began their triumphal procession around the world.
How many of them are there in the world now? No one can say the exact figure, since these animals are kept not only in zoos and circuses, but also in private menageries. Despite the close relationship of all white tigers, no significant weakening of the viability of these animals has yet been observed.

Most white tigers live in the homeland of their ancestor Mohan - in India. They can be seen in almost every Indian zoo. They are in America and Europe.

In Russia, the white tiger first appeared in 2003. A five-year-old male came to us from Holland. A year later, a bride came to him - a female from Sweden. In 2005, the couple gave birth to three white tiger cubs. Two of them went to Russian zoos - in Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg, and one - in South Africa. And in March 2008, the female brought three more cubs.

The Bengal tiger, like other types of tigers, is protected in all states where it lives. It is listed in the IUCN Red Book, the hunting of this predator is completely prohibited, the capture of tiger cubs, the use of tiger body parts is criminally punishable. Although its popularity in the poaching environment does not weaken. After all, according to some reports, the carcass of a tiger costs more than 40 thousand dollars on the "black market", a tiger skin - 20 thousand, and a kilogram of bones - up to 5 thousand.

The first white tiger appeared in the Moscow Zoo in May 2003. After a month of quarantine, he was transferred to the Cats of the Tropics pavilion. A five-year-old male arrived here from the zoo in the Dutch city of Amersfoort. A year later, a female from Sweden arrived in the enclosure next to it. When the tigress settled in, the cats were introduced. And in July 2005, a happy event took place in the zoo - three wonderful white tiger cubs were born. The female turned out to be a caring mother, all the cubs grew up safely. Two of them have replenished the collections of Russian zoos: one went to Novosibirsk, the other - to Yekaterinburg. The third tiger cub went on a long journey to South Africa. In March 2008, three more cubs were born.

In the Cats of the Tropics pavilion, most often you can see only adult tigers. In a large outdoor enclosure, they take turns walking (outside the breeding season, animals can be aggressive towards each other). Our two white tigers are very different. The male character is large, imposing, but very playful. It is he who fiddles with new toys that employees give him for a long time. He wears them in his teeth, pushes them with his paws, sometimes jumps around like a kitten. His special love is the pool. He bathes with pleasure, plays in the water, and in the heat sometimes sleeps in the pool. The tigress is more sedate. Does not enter the water, plays less often. Only when the cubs were growing up did she play with them with pleasure. Tigers also have food preferences: The male does not eat fish and rabbits at all, he prefers meat. For the female, rabbits are a delicacy; she eats fish and offal with pleasure. Our white tigers are in good health, and we hope that the perky tiger youth will please us with their cheerful fuss more than once.

Tigryulya is a white Bengal tigress, presented to the Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko, and thanks to the use of her photo on campaign billboards, it has become a kind of symbol of the New Year 2010 in Ukraine.

According to Chinese mythology, the tiger is the personification of military prowess. His image is used in the fight against demons and evil spirits. In Feng Shui, this sacred animal acts as the White Tiger. The spirit of this animal is so ferocious and strong that there is no better defense against evil.

The White Tiger is the guardian of the West (according to the Feng Shui compass school) or to the right of the front door. The white color of the Tiger is explained by the fact that the western side of the world in China is a symbol of the other world or the land of the dead, and in this country, as you know, white is the color of mourning. One must use the White Tiger Talisman with care. This is a very ferocious and strong animal, and if you treat it incorrectly, instead of protecting it, you can get the opposite, its strength will be directed against you. It must be said that the Chinese generally do not use the tiger talisman for internal protection at home if there is someone in the family who was born in the year of the animal that the tiger eats (for example, a wild boar, a rooster, a rabbit). In any case, at home it is better to have either a sculpture of a sleeping White Tiger, or not to have it at all. But if you still decide to use the Tiger talisman, then according to the rules of Feng Shui, it should be metal. In principle, let's say stone or made of wood or glass. The color of the Tiger can be chosen from white, yellow, beige, silver and gold. You can buy the desired talismans and symbols of Feng Shui here: ESOTERICS - an online store of Feng Shui items, unusual gifts and souvenirs. And another very important tip: in order for the Tiger to properly protect you from external aggression, it is necessary that the Dragon be larger than the Tiger itself. He will balance and control the restless essence of the Tiger. The dragon symbolizes the masculine Yang, and the Tiger, as a mutually complementary opposite, the feminine or Yin energy. Therefore, the Dragon must always be larger, otherwise he will not be able to defeat the ferocious tiger hole.