WHITE BENGAL TIGER

 Click here to see the normal color for Bengal tigers
Bengal tiger from www.PDImages.com

Name: Bengal Tiger (white)
Scientific name: Panthera tigris
Range: Asia.(India subcontinent)
Habitat: Dense Forest and Lush Grasslands
Status: Endangered Species
Diet in the wild: water buffalo,goat,deer,wild boar.
Diet in the zoo: Chicken,horsemeat or kangaroo meat five days a week. Fast on bones twice a week.
Location in the zoo: Asian Falls

 
Physical description: 

Bengal Tigers are fully grown at 2-3 years of age. Male reach weights of 200-230 kilograms and up to three metres in length. The females are 130-170 kilograms and up to 2.5 meters long. They have stripes all over their body.  Their stripes are like fingerprints.  No two are the same.  The stripes are not only in the tigers fur, but are a pigmentation of the skin. They have a white spot on the back of their ears,whick looks like eyes. 

General information: 

Bengal tigers are also called as Indian tiger, they are the most numerous in population than any other tiger subspecies.  They were killed as a part of sport carried out by Indian and British royalties.  There number declined at a fast rate. They are one of the only two species of cats that like water.  At full running speed they reach speed of up to 60 kilometers per hour.  They do not possess great stamina.  The average tiger sleeps between 16 to 18 hours per day. 

Special anatomical, physiological or behavioral adaptations: 

The ability of big cats to roar is related to the arrangement of bones under the tongue.  Also the stripes on its body helps its ability to hide in the tall grass and tress. Bengal tiger is very patient, it watches its prey and waits till the right time to make its move.  It has very strong jaws; it catches the prey by its neck and the strong jaws and teeth help him to kill its prey. Bengal tiger has a strong sense of smell. It also has a great vision which helps it to hunt during the night time.  Bengal tigers can also swim and move quite swiftly in the water.  They have the ability to shed or grow body hair according to how cold or hot it gets. 

Comments about the white tigers of the Fort Worth Zoo. 

{short description of image} All white Bengal tigers are the descendants of four cubs of a white tiger originally killed in India. The tigers now in the exhibit first came to the zoo as cubs. They were preceded by a female tiger named Neela, who lived at the zoo until her death at the age of 18.

Photo of cubs courtesy of Derek Hilton

Personal Observations: 

I have had an opportunity to see this amazing animal in the wild while I was visiting one of the wild life sanctuaries in India.  This animal is truly amazing. They had a very muscular body.  They had just finished their meal so they appeared very lethargic.  On the whole, the tigers did not move much. They take extra care of their cubs.  The tigress got really angry when people attempted to come near the cubs to take pictures.
 

Current research: 
http://www.iwec.org/tiger.htm
Http://user.aol.com/tigertrail/facts1.htm
http://www.5tigers.org/Basics/Subsp_distribution/bengal.htm
http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/5685/bengal.htm
Page author: Deependra Chhabra. E-mail address: dchhabra@hotmail.com
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Sources and Links:

http://res3.geocities.com/rainforest/6612/ahabitat.htm
http://www.dreamworld.com.au/tigerwho.html
http://www.enteract.com/~eaglegb/indexpcs/tiger.html
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