Siberian White Tiger

(Panthera tigris altaica)

 

 

            The Siberian White Tigers are simply white-colored Siberian Tigers.  They are not a separate subspecies of tiger, and are not albinos.  They have blue eyes, a pink nose, and creamy white fur with chocolate covered stripes.  The Siberian White Tiger is the largest and most rare of all members of the cat family.  The females can range from 7 feet 11 inches to 9 feet tall and can weigh anywhere from 221-488 pounds.  Males of this subspecies range from 8 feet 8 inches to an astonishing 11 feet and can weigh from 419-800 pounds! 

          The Siberian White Tiger can mainly be found in the coniferous, scrub oak, and birch woodlands of eastern Russia but there have also been found in northeastern China and northern North Korea.  The Siberian White Tiger can survive cold weather because of their massive size and furry coat.  Their white coat is also added protection when used as camaflouge in the snow.  The Siberian White Tiger is a solitary animal, preferring to travel and hunt alone or with a small pack.  They, like all other tigers, are carnivorous.  They feed on cattle, water buffalo, wild pigs, deer, birds, and elk. In Russia Far East these prey are unevenly distributed and move seasonally.  As a result the territory size of white tigers can range from 39-154 miles for females and 309-390 miles for males.  There are a few cases in which these tigers have eaten dogs and other tigers that have been hit by trucks or killed by poachers.  Siberian White Tigers ambush their prey, observing their prey for long periods of time.  These tigers are extremely strong.  They render their prey helpless by pouncing on them and inflicting a series of deadly bites into the animal’s spine or throat.  These tigers can cover 6-12 miles each night in search for food.

          The Siberian White Tiger reproduces sexually.  The white tiger is produced from 2 Siberian Tigers that carry the recessive allele for white coloring.  A Siberian Tiger with two normal alleles or one normal allele and one white allele is colored orange.  Only by combining two recessive white alleles do you get a Siberian White Tiger.

          Females of this subspecies of tigers can breed upon reaching an age of three to four years.  They mate in winter months and go through 3-5 months of gestation.  The female can produce about 1-5 cubs per liter.  Cubs weigh slightly over 2 pounds each and are born blind.  The cubs normally stay close to their mother during the first 8 weeks and which point they begin to join their mother on hunts.  By 6 months of age the cubs have learned how to kill.  By 18 months of age the young are capable of hunting on their own.  After they have stayed with their mother for about 2 years they leave the pact and travel solo.  The Siberian White Tiger can live up to 15 years in the wild but in captivity they live significantly longer. 

          The greatest threats to the Siberian White Tigers are poaching and habitat loss.  These 2 factors have reduced the white tiger population tremendously.  The white tiger is hunted mainly for its fur coat.  There has been a rise in poaching with the new opportunity of selling tiger bones.  Tiger products are thought to have powerful medical properties and are sold in the majority of East Asian countries.  Specifically the Siberian “white” Tiger is facing extinction.  Today it is extinct in it’s native Korea and are very close to extinction in China and Russia.  With the decline in normal Siberian Tigers that may carry the recessive allele for white coloring, the population of white tigers is critically low.  In 1997 there was approximately 436-505 known white tigers.  There is an estimated 200 to 400 Siberian White Tigers living in the wild and not many of these are white tigers.

          There is actually controversy about the captivity of the Siberian White Tigers in zoos.  The controversy among zoos is a small part ethics and large part economics.  Some places have banned the breeding of white tigers because some are of mixed ancestry and serve no conservational purposes.  The few zoos that do have Siberian White Tigers say that their exhibits are popular, increasing attendance and revenue.  The unspoken issue of the zoos is their conservation program.  To produce white tigers directors of zoos must continuously inbreed, father to daughter, to granddaughter, and so on.  This is a contradiction of fundamental genetic principles upon which all endangered species in captivity are based.  Most people who still breed white tigers such as zoos, private breeders, and circus folk do so mainly for economic reasons and not conservation reasons.  There are many people now who are trying to protect the future of these tigers.  Most plans surround making more reservations lands and better conservation plans in zoos.  The Siberian White Tiger is a beautiful creature and we should all try as best we can to preserve their life for future generations.

 

Also Know As:

 

1.)    Amur White Tiger

2.)    Ussuri White Tiger

3.)    Manchurian White Tiger

4.)    Northeastern China White Tiger

 

 

For Pictures of this Majestic animal go to:

 

http://gurlpages.com/reddevil/tigers.html

                          Or

http://greenfield.fortunecity.com/manchester/110/down.htm