Tigers

Tigers in general are the biggest cats in the world. They live in steamy hot jungles of India as well as icy cold Siberian habitat. There are five different subspecies of tiger alive in the world today. These tigers are called Siberian, South China, Indochinese, Bengal, and Sumatran.

Three subspecies of tigers are now extinct: Caspian, Balinese, and Javan. The Caspian tiger became extinct within modern history, as approximately 80 of them existed in northern Iran in 1964. Javan tigers have been extinct since 1976.

The Indochinese tiger is on the very brink of extinction as only a few sightings have been made in the last decade, and the South China subspecies has only 30 to 80 remaining in the wild. All tigers are critically endangered.

Of the surviving subspecies, Siberian tigers are the largest - males can grow to over 9 feet in length. Sumatran tigers are the smallest. All tigers become big enough to hunt deer and buffalo by the time they are a year old, although they are still dependent on their mothers until about 18 months old. Tigers in the wild rarely attack humans. When they do, they are usually old, sick or weak from starvation. With loss of habitat, finding food becomes especially difficult for them.

White tigers are not albinos, they have recessive genes that make them white. They also have blue/green eyes and brownish stripes. Although they do very rarely occur in nature, they are found mostly in captivity. They rarely survive in the wild because their color is easily visible to predators and prey alike. Virtually all the whites now existing are the product of deliberate breeding.

Although white tigers are extremely beautiful animals, they serve no conservation purpose. For this reason, the Species Survival Plan (SSP) coordinators for the various surviving subspecies of tiger do not authorize breeding the white tiger in their managed programs. Still this remarkable animal serves the same important purpose that all captive wildlife does - as ambassador to its species. It attracts hundreds of thousands of fascinated visitors to zoos, shows and educational facilities across the world, thus increasing public awareness and opportunity for education of the plight of all endangered animals.