Bengal white tiger, amazing and beautiful

If among the litter of an animal a baby with a white color is suddenly found, then speech, as a rule, is about an albino. This creature, whose skin has practically no pigment, because of what its wool turns white, and the eyes acquire a red shade due to the transparent vessels radiating through the colorless iris . But we will talk about the amazing phenomenon of nature, called the "Bengal white tiger." This is not an albino. His snow-white wool is decorated with brown stripes, and his eyes are blue.

White tigers are a rare natural phenomenon

The appearance of the white tiger is a mutation, which is manifested in one specimen per 10,000 ordinary, having a red color (by the way, it appears only in Bengal tigers). These animals are extremely rare in the wild, as they have a more fragile health, and their beautiful, for human taste, coloring interferes with successful hunting. But zoos and circuses very much fell in love with blue-eyed handsome men and gladly contain them. In addition, the white tiger breeds abundantly in captivity. True, the offspring of this color is born only on the condition that both parents are white.

Attitude towards white tigers

In ancient times it was believed that the white tiger possessed magical powers and therefore he was often an object of worship, a totem capable of solving problems and protecting from evil spirits.

Images of this amazing animal, for example, were placed on the gates of Taoist temples. A meeting with him from the Indians was considered a harbinger of enlightenment and a happy future.

In China, the white tiger was considered the guardian of the land of the dead, giving longevity and strength. On the graves of relatives, the Chinese planted his stone statues to terrorize the demons that came after the souls of the dead.

How did the white tigers in captivity

In total in the world in zoos there are 130 individuals of white Bengal tiger. They all descended from one ancestor - a male named Mohan.

In May 1951 in India, hunters came across a den, in which among ordinary teen cubs there was one white. Maharaja Govindagari took this unusual child to his palace, where Mohan lived for 12 years.

In order for the light to appear white cubs, Mohana crossed with his own red daughter. This crossing fixes the necessary recessive sign - and the long-awaited white offspring appeared on the light. And in 1960, the first white tiger cub left India and settled in the US National Park in Washington. And soon wonderful cats became desirable in all self-respecting zoos in the world.

White tiger. Photos and amazing facts

The white tiger is considered the second largest after the Amur. It can weigh up to 300 kg and reach a length (without a tail) of more than 3 meters.

Like his red relatives, the stripes on the body of the white tiger have an individual pattern, inherent only to one individual.

White tigers have incredible hearing and sight, which, along with their secrecy, help the lords of the jungle to hunt at night and survive, having such an unusual color. And the urine, which they tag their territory, has the smell of popcorn oil.

White tigers love to swim, they often play in the water, and adults can swim across the river in order to go hunting, breaking up to 30 km per day.

It is a pity that in the wild nature of these beautiful amazing creatures is almost impossible to meet!