Bengal tiger. Beast - White Tiger Where do white tigers live?
The Bengal tiger (lat. Panthera tigris tigris or Panthera tigris bengalensis) is a subspecies of tiger belonging to the order Carnivora, the Feline family and the Panther genus. Bengal tigers are the national animal of historical Bengal or Bangladesh, as well as China and India.
Description of the Bengal tiger
A distinctive feature of the Bengal tiger is its retractable type, sharp and very long claws, as well as a well-furred tail and incredibly powerful jaws. Among other things, the predator has well-developed hearing and vision, so such animals are able to see perfectly even in complete darkness. The jump length of an adult tiger is 8-9 m, and the speed of movement over short distances reaches 60 km/h. Adult Bengal tigers sleep approximately seventeen hours a day.
Appearance
The fur color of the Bengal tiger varies from yellow color until light orange in color, and the stripes on the skin are dark brown, dark chocolate or black. The animal's belly area is white, and its tail is also predominantly white, but with characteristic black rings. The mutation of the Bengal subspecies - the white tiger - is characterized by the presence of dark brown or reddish-brown stripes on a white or light background. It is extremely rare to see completely white tigers without stripes on their fur.
This is interesting! The record weight of the male, who was killed in northern India less than a century ago, was 388.7 kg. To date, these are the officially registered most high performance weight in natural conditions among all known tiger subspecies.
The average body length of an adult male Bengal tiger with a tail is 2.7-3.3 m or slightly more, and the female is 2.40-2.65 m. The maximum length of the tail is 1.1 m with a height at the withers of 90 -115 cm. U bengal tigers currently the largest canines of any known member of the cat family. Their length can exceed 80-90 mm. Average weight an adult sexually mature male is 223-275 kg, but the body weight of some, especially large individuals, reaches even 300-320 kg. The average weight of an adult female is 139.7-135 kg, and its maximum body weight reaches 193 kg.
Lifestyle, behavior
Predatory animals such as Bengal tigers live mostly alone. Sometimes, for a specific purpose, they are able to gather in small groups, including a maximum of three or four individuals. Each male fiercely guards his own territory, and the roar of an angry predator can be heard even at a distance of three kilometers.
Bengal tigers lead night look life, and in the daytime these animals prefer to gain strength and rest. A strong and agile, very fast predator, going out to hunt at dusk or dawn, rarely left without prey.
This is interesting! Despite its quite impressive size, the Bengal tiger easily climbs trees and branches, and also swims well and is not at all afraid of water.
The area of one individual site of a predator occupies a territory within the range of 30-3000 km 2, and males specially mark the boundaries of such a site with their feces, urine and so-called “scrapes”. In some cases, the home range of one male is partially overlapped by the home ranges of several females who are less territorial.
Lifespan
Bengalis prefer hot and humid weather. climatic conditions, in which average duration life is about fifteen years. In captivity, such strong and powerful predatory animals easily live to an age of almost a quarter of a century.
White bengal tiger
Of particular interest is a small population of the white variation of the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris var. Alba), bred by foreign scientists as decoration for zoological parks. IN wildlife such individuals would not be able to hunt in the summer, so they are practically not found in natural conditions. White tigers that sometimes appear in their natural habitat are individuals with congenital type mutations. Such rare color explained by experts in terms of insufficient pigment content. differs from its fellows with red skin by the unusual blue coloring of its eyes.
Range, habitats
All currently known subspecies of tigers, including the Bengal tiger, have fur colors that correspond to all the characteristics of their natural environment a habitat. The predatory species has become widespread in tropical jungle, mangrove swamps, savannas, in rocky areas located up to three thousand meters above sea level.
Bengal tigers live in Pakistan and Eastern Iran, Central and Northern India, Nepal and Bhutan, as well as Bangladesh and Myanmar. Predatory animals of this species are found in the vicinity of the river mouth of the Indus and Ganges, Ravvi and Sutlij. The population of such a tiger is less than 2.5 thousand individuals, with a probable risk of decline. Today, the Bengal tiger belongs to the category of numerous subspecies of the tiger, and is also completely exterminated in Afghanistan.
Bengal tiger diet
Adult Bengal tigers are capable of hunting various fairly large animals, including wild boars and roe deer, deer and antelope, goats, buffaloes and gaurs, and young elephants. Also, leopards, red wolves, jackals and foxes, and not too large crocodiles quite often become the prey of such a predator.
The tiger does not refuse to feed on a variety of small vertebrates, including frogs, fish, badgers and monkeys, porcupines and snakes, birds, and insects. Tigers do not disdain all kinds of carrion. During one meal, an adult Bengal tiger consumes about 35-40 kg of meat, but after such a “feast” the predatory animal can starve for about three weeks.
This is interesting! It should be noted that male Bengal tigers do not eat rabbits and fish, but females of this species, on the contrary, very willingly eat just such food.
Bengal tigers are very patient, able to watch their prey for a long time and choose the right moment for one decisive and powerful, deadly throw. The chosen victim is killed by Bengal tigers through a process of strangulation or by breaking the spine. There are also well-known cases when a predatory animal of this species attacked people. Tigers kill small prey with a bite to the neck. After killing, the prey is transferred to the safest place, where a quiet meal is carried out.
I am sure that you have all heard about the existence of the white tiger. But most likely, few people wondered what kind of species it was wild cats and are white tigers found in the wild or are they a human creation? Let's try to figure it out.
The existence of the white tiger has been known for a very, very long time. IN ancient india believed that meeting a white tiger could bring enlightenment, and killing unusual beast- a series of troubles and death.
White tigers were extremely rare in the wild. Over the past 60 years, neither scientists nor hunters have seen a white tiger in the wild. Last time a white tiger was seen back in 1958. Unfortunately, he was not only seen, but also shot.
Before today Science knows only white Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) that lived and probably still live in the wild.
It is believed that the probability of a white tiger cub being born is 1 in 10,000. This is a congenital mutation, but white tigers are not albino, as indicated by the fact that they have dark stripes on their fur. In the wild, white tigers were probably perfectly healthy animals, not much different from their common red counterparts. But in captivity the situation is completely different...
Today, there are between 150 and 200 white Bengal tigers living in captivity, all thanks to one man and one tiger, respectively:
It all started back in 1951, when during a tiger hunt with the participation of Maharaja Rewa Shri Martand Singh, a tiger’s lair was discovered, in which there were four tiger cubs - three red and one white. The red tiger cubs, alas, were allowed to be skinned, and the white one was settled in the maharaja’s palace and given the name Mohan. The tiger quickly became the ruler's favorite and main pride.
The Maharaja hoped that sooner or later this white tiger would give birth to a white tiger cub, but for several years all the kittens were born the most common - red. A few years later, the tiger was brought together with his own daughter. As a result of inbreeding (connection between related individuals), the tigress gave birth to several kittens, among which one was white. They say that until that moment no one had seen the Maharaja so happy. A few more years passed and so many white tigers already lived in the palace that they decided to sell some of them. In the early 60s, several white tiger cubs found themselves outside of India, particularly in the USA and Great Britain. Today, white tigers are found in many zoos around the world, as well a large number of lives in private nurseries, primarily in the United States.
Thus, absolutely all white tigers are descendants of the tiger Mohan, who lived in the palace of the Maharaja. To give birth to a white tiger, you need a white tiger and a tiger that is the child of a white tiger. Also, a white tiger cub can be born to two red tigers, provided that both of them or at least one of them is the child of a white tiger. From all this it follows that all white tigers are the result of inbreeding, which, of course, cannot but affect the offspring. White tiger cubs are smaller than their red brothers and sisters. They often have slanted eyes, crooked legs, and a weak spine.
At the same time, according to observations, white tiger cubs grow faster and grow larger than ordinary Bengal tigers.
As I already said, only representatives of the Bengal subspecies are white, but white (with black stripes) Amur tigers are often found in zoos. But there are no white Amur tigers in the wild. More precisely, there has not been a single documented case of meeting with a white Amur tiger. As for white Amur tigers living in captivity, this is not a purebred Amur tiger, but a mixture of Amur and Bengal tigers with a congenital white mutation.
We all know that the tiger is a fiery cat with black stripes, we also know about the beautiful white Bengal tigers - snow-white with black stripes. What do we know about golden, black and Maltese tigers? Today I will tell you about them :)
Golden Tiger
The golden tiger is the most rare color variation caused by a recessive gene. Such representatives of tigers differ slightly from their relatives large size and softer golden fur with orange stripes, black stripes can only be seen on some individuals at the tip of the tail. There is a version that the development of this type of color gradually developed in a group of tigers, one of whose representatives possessed a recessive gene for golden color and periodically interbred with its offspring. The color that appeared served as additional camouflage for such tigers living in areas rich in clay soils. On this moment There are about 30 golden tigers in captivity.
Black Tiger
The black tiger is a rare color variation of the tiger that is not a separate species or geographical subspecies. Black tigers are named because of pseudomelanosis. The black stripes of pseudomelanistic tigers are so close together that the background color is barely visible between them. For a long time black tigers were considered a myth, however, several skins have proven that pseudo-melanists exist. Melanistic tigers, unlike black tigers, are uniformly black without stripes. Melanistic tiger was captured only once; now this image is lost.
Maltese (blue) tiger
Artistic representation of a Maltese tiger
The existence of the Maltese (blue) tiger has not been proven, but reports of encounters with it periodically come from Chinese province Fujian and Korea. Based on these reports, the tiger has bluish fur with dark gray stripes. Possibly due to illegal hunting of tigers in China, the blue variety of tigers has become completely extinct. Around 1910, Harry Caldwell, an American missionary and big game hunter, was hunting a blue tiger in the vicinity of Fuzhou. His search is described in the book “The Blue Tiger” by Roy Chappen Andrews (1924): “The color of the animal is strikingly beautiful. The main color has a delicate Maltese tint, changing to a light gray-blue towards the bottom. The stripes stand out clearly, like an ordinary yellow tiger.” . A later report of a Maltese tiger came from a US military personnel during the Korean campaign. A soldier saw a blue tiger in the mountains near the demilitarized zone. This meeting is described in the book “Mysterious Cats of the World” by Karl Shuker. There have also been reports of blue tigers from Burma.
White Bengal tigers have black and brown stripes on their white fur and blue eyes. This coloration is very rare among wild animals, but is often common in captive populations. For every 10,000 tigers, only one is born white. The first mention of a white tiger dates back to 1951, when one of the hunters found a white tiger cub in the lair of a tigress. This tiger was crossed with a female of normal color, who gave birth to 4 red tiger cubs. The white tiger was then bred with one of his daughters, and in a litter of three cubs, two turned out to be white. Thus, all white tigers kept in captivity are descendants of one individual. There are currently about 130 white tigers in zoos.
The white Bengal tiger is not an albino. Albino tiger has no black stripes at all.
Tiger ( Panthera tigris) - a predator of the class mammals, such as chordates, order Carnivora, cat family, panther genus, subfamilies big cats. It got its name from the ancient Persian word tigri, which means “sharp, fast,” and from the ancient Greek word “arrow.”
The tiger is the largest and heaviest member of the cat family. Some male tigers reach a length of 3 meters and weigh over 300 kg. Tigers are listed in the Red Book, and hunting these animals is prohibited.
Defenseless domestic animals and small elephant calves often become prey. In summer, nuts and fruits are added to the main meat menu of tigers.
Amur tigers eat wapiti, wild boar, elk, and deer. Bengal tigers sometimes attack porcupines.
Indochinese tigers hunt wild boar, sambar, serow, banteng and gaur, and also attack porcupines, macaques, teleda (hog badgers), and muntjac. Malayan tigers feed on wild boars, barking deer, sambar deer, and can even attack the Malayan bear.
Tigers hunt alone, using 2 main methods: sitting in ambush or carefully sneaking up on the prey. Both techniques are successfully completed with rapid jumps or a jerk. One tiger jump is 5 m high and 10 m long. The tiger gnaws the throats of small animals, and large mammals knocks him to the ground and gnaws his cervical vertebrae.
If the tiger's hunt was unsuccessful, and the prey turned out to be stronger or ran away, then the tiger does not attack again. Predators eat their prey lying down, holding the meat with their paws.
Tiger breeding
The breeding season for tigers is December and January. Females are ready to bear offspring at 3-4 years, males mature at 5 years. As a rule, a tigress is courted by one male tiger; in conditions of increased numbers, there are fights among the males for the right to own the female.
A tigress can conceive only a few times a year and brings offspring every 2-3 years. On average, tigers gestate for 103 days.
The tigress gives birth in a den built in inaccessible places: rock crevices, caves, impassable thickets.
Usually 2-4 cubs and tiger cubs are born, in rare cases there can be 6 of them. After a week, newborn tiger cubs open their eyes, and for the first month and a half they are milk-fed. At the age of 2 months, the mother and offspring leave the den.
One and a half year old tigers are quite independent, although many do not leave their mother until they are 3-5 years old.
On average, tigers live 26-30 years, during which time a tigress can give birth to up to 20 cubs, many of which often die in their youth.
Tigers adapt well to living conditions in captivity and reproduce well. The increase in the number of offspring bred in captivity contributed to a fall in prices for predatory cats and made it possible for people, in particular Americans, to purchase a striped predator as a pet.
- Animals such as tigers have long been the subject of all sorts of myths and legends. For example, many people think saber tooth tiger the progenitor of modern striped predators. In fact, being a member of the cat family, ancient look considered a saber-toothed cat, not a tiger.
- Most wild cats are afraid of water and avoid bodies of water whenever possible. But not a tiger. This predator is an excellent swimmer, loves water and never misses an opportunity to soak up the heat in a cool lake or river.
White Bengal Tiger
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 Northern and Central India, Nepal and Burma. He also lives in the Sundarbans (near the mouth of the Ganges River) and Bangladesh. Bengal tigers of the usual red color sometimes give birth to cubs with white fur, on which, however, they remain dark stripes. In nature, they survive extremely rarely - such animals cannot hunt successfully, as they are too noticeable. White tigers are specially bred for circuses and zoos.
Among animals with normal coloring, there are white individuals called albinos, but this is a misconception; a white tiger is not an albino. These animals have so little pigment that their eyes appear red due to 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. Similar cases have been recorded in Southern China. The rest known to man white tigers 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 a light (white) color variation of their color. Their life expectancy is shorter compared to ordinary tigers and they have more fragile health. In natural conditions, it is more difficult for a white tiger to survive, since its light coloring gives it away during the hunt. Many people believe that these predators originated from Siberia, and White color is a camouflage when living in snowy conditions. In fact, white tigers originated in India.
For thousands of years tigers with white coloring They seemed to people to be creatures shrouded in an aura of mystery. At times they inspired fear and often became objects of religious worship. In Kyrgyzstan they talked about a white tiger who is able to solve all the difficult problems of people. During a ritual dance, Kyrgyz shamans, falling into a deep trance, turned to the tiger asking 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 and symbolized longevity. Stone statues in the form of a tiger were placed on Chinese graves: the demons were supposed to be 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 not at all mythical, that the white tiger set off on its journey around the world.
All white tigers kept in captivity today are descended from one common ancestor - a Bengal male named Mohan.
In May 1951, the Maharajah of Rewa was hunting tigers. The hunters came across a den with four teenage tiger cubs, one of which attracted the attention of the ruler with its unusual white coloring. 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, astonishing the whole world. When Mohan grew up, they matched him with a female - an ordinary, red one. She periodically brought tiger cubs, but, alas, there were no white ones among them! This continued until they brought one of Mohan’s daughters together with her father, that is, they carried out that same inbreeding (inbreeding), which, although it weakens vitality descendants, but consolidates necessary signs. The result was not long in coming: in November 1958, in a litter of 4 tiger cubs, one was white.
After this, the number of such animals in the palace began to increase rapidly. Contain large group It became beyond the power of even the Maharajah, and it was decided to sell the “surplus.” Even though the Indian government has declared rare animals national treasure, several tigers were soon taken outside the country.
In 1960, one of Mohan's sons went to National Park USA in Washington. Some time later White tigers ended up in the UK, at Bristol Zoo. Spectacular cats began their triumphal march around the world.
How many 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 in the viability of these animals has yet been observed. Most white tigers lives in the homeland of their ancestor Mohan - in India. They can be seen in almost every Indian zoo. They exist in both America and Europe.
The frequency of appearance of white tigers is 1 in 10,000 with normal coloring. White tigers breed excellently in captivity.
There are currently 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 6,000 years. The tiger talisman was made from shells and found next to the body. This was the earliest appearance of the white tiger as a mascot.
Popularity white tigers gradually began to lead to the fact that there were too many of them, and now special authorities are monitoring their population.
