White Tiger

White Tiger Life Cycle

As expected, the White Tiger is far lighter in its coloring than the more common Bengal Tiger. The majority of its coat is a light cream color, with very light brown or grey stripes. Males can be anywhere between eight and 10.2 feet (that is, between 2.4 and 3.1 meters) in length, from head to tail. Females are smaller, averaging between 7.1 and 8.5 feet (equivalent to between 2.1 and 2.6 meters) long. Males can weigh anything between about 190 and 260 kilograms (or about 420 and 570 pounds), while females average about 158 kilograms, or 350 pounds.

Habitat

The White Tiger ideally needs about 20 square miles (or 32 square kilometers) of space in which to roam, live and hunt. Obviously, the supply of prey is of utmost importance to its survival. In the wild, the White Tiger lives in South-east Asia and in various parts of India, inhabiting the grasslands and forests in which they can hide themselves effectively. Due to their lighter coloring, they are not as well camouflaged in the dark vegetation as their more common Bengal peers, but the stripes do help to break their profile up, visually speaking.

Diet

The White Tiger is a carnivorous hunter. It is also a particularly good swimmer, so it can pursue its prey even if it attempts to escape into the water.

The White Tiger can take down prey that weighs almost a ton, ranging from smaller monkeys and birds to wild cattle and deer.

Because the tiger only makes a kill every few days, it will feast on its prey until it absolutely cannot fit any more meat into its belly.

Conservation

Because the White Tiger is so rare, it is of particular interest to those visiting zoos and parks. However, they are not a subspecies and do not, therefore, warrant special breeding programs and initiatives. In fact, breeding them in zoos is frowned upon as it is deemed to be done with the purposes of increasing revenue and tourist attraction, rather than protecting a valuable species. Still, any tiger poaching is illegal and White Tigers are especially valuable for their rare coats. The black market boasts a booming trade in tiger parts (for aesthetic or perceived medicinal purposes). Today, there are several programs in place to protect tigers from the cruel horrors of which humans are capable.