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White Tigers
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Nalin was born August 1, 2008. He was raised at the Discovery Kingdom at Six Flags in Vallejo. Nalin was part of the wildlife program on their Tiger Island. In early March of 2017, we received a call from a fellow tiger trainer/handler from Tiger Island who asked us if we would be interested in an 8 year old white tiger. White Tigers have a value of ~$30,000 and to have one given to us, we definitely wanted to know the history of this animal. He was healthy, came from good genetics, had excellent medical care and was handled on a daily basis. The only issue that Nalin had was...he didn't like roller coasters. Often times when big cats (and small ones too) reach middle age - for tigers this is generally 8-9 - they decide to have what can be described as "selective hearing". They only want to hear, and thus do, what they want, when they want. Nalin no longer wanted to participant in their educational programming and needed a new home. We agreed to provide that for him and in less than 2 two weeks Nalin arrived at Cat Tales. He settled right in and from the photo you can see that he loves to pose. (He also has an interesting history as a cub and a computer. "Google" Nalin - white tiger and more info should come up.)
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Zeus was born May 2, 2001 at a facility near Sacramento, California. He has lived at Cat Tales since he was 6 weeks of age. He and his half-brother, Apollo, are from a well diversified genetic background. This is important in all species, but especially the white tigers. All White Tigers are related to the last white tiger from the wild that was captured in the 1950's. Without genetic diversity, these animals can have in-bred characteristics that dominate issues with their eye sight (cross-eyed) and other medical problems (Hip disorders).
Apollo was born June 17, 2001 and came to live at Cat Tales when he was about 2 months old. Zeus and Apollo have the same father and their mothers are sisters. If you were to look at the parents you would see that their father is orange in color, Zeus's mom was orange and Apollo's mom was white. All 3 of the parents are heterozygous, which means they carry the white tiger gene. In Zeus's litter there were 2 white cubs and 2 orange cubs. In Apollo's litter there were 4 white cubs, all male. Zeus and Apollo lived together until they were 9 years of age at which time they began to spar often. We separated them to prevent possible injury. The "White Boys" weren't neutered (an unnecessary surgery, since we did not intend to breed them, with possible life threatening complications) and they became territorial, but were fine living with a fence for separation. Eventually they each had their own exhibit area. Zeus and Apollo turned 17 this year. Apollo is starting to show his age a bit more. He has arthritis that flares up under certain weather conditions. (He is under veterinary observation and care). Apollo has figured out that an exaggerated "sympathy limp" will get him extra attention. If you observe him walking from a distance and he is unaware of your presence, any limping is minimized. Most of it is for show and attention, which he loves. We also moved him to a smaller area to keep him from excessive movement which could aggravate the arthritis. |
White Tiger Facts
White Tigers have been extinct in the wild since the 1950's. Most white tigers in captivity are Bengal Tigers, though some have been bred with Siberian Tigers and thus may be called by that name. White Tigers are just like orange tigers, they just have a different fur color. (Consider them - blonde, blue eyed tigers). White Tigers are not Albinos, they have blue eyes and fur coloring that can be creamy to white. As with all tigers, if you were to shave them, they have stripes on their skin. All tigers have a different stripe pattern, the stripes on their forehead are like their "fingerprints" and used for identification.
Their friendly noise is called a "chuff" which is a greeting for those they know or like. They also have a deep growl or roar, and often call out to their family members an "ah-uuuu" sound. Tigers are solitary except at breeding time, but in captivity they are very social as long as their personal territory is not occupied by others. Siblings have been raised together and can be compatible until they mature, but will become territorial unless they are spayed or neutered early. Each grouping is different and as conditions vary, so does compatibility.
Tigers have five times the strength of a human athlete pound for pound. (This holds true for all cats except for the leopard and jaguar, which have 10 times the strength of an athlete of compatible size.) Tigers are carnivores, which means they are meat eaters. Their main prey in the wild is native mammals, in particular hoof-stock (deer, etc.). They will eat up to one-fifth of their body weight at one time and then won't hunt again for up to a week. When you look at tigers and you see the extra skin on their belly, it is so their stomachs can stretch to consume that much meat. The cats that eat on more of a regular basis (daily) have a tighter stomach area.
Also, 80% of a tigers weight is in the front half of their body. Along with sharp claws and long canines, this make it easier for them to take down large prey.
The gestation for tigers is 100-110 days. Litter size is normally 2 to 4. In the wild only one to two cubs will make it through the first year of life. In captivity the survival rate is higher, due to extensive research that has been done regarding both mother and hand raising protocol. Depending on the species of tiger, the cubs will weigh 2 to 4 pounds at birth and grow rapidly. All tigers, except for Siberians, mature at ~3 years of age. (Siberian Tigers, since they are the largest cats in the world, mature at ~5 years of age). The lifespan for captive tigers is 18 to 22 years of age (twice the age of wild tigers). Due to the specialized genetics of the White Tigers their captive lifespan is shorter - 15 to 18 years of age.
In order to keep the genetics clean in the white tigers and reduce the incidence of in-breeding, orange tigers are often bred with the whites. This produces heterozygeous tigers, which means they carry the white tiger gene and can possibly produce white cubs. This is all dependent on the total percentage of the white tiger gene in both parents. It does make for healthier and stronger tigers. Occasionally "tabby tigers" are part of the litter. They have orange fur and tan (not black) stripes.
The larger zoos consider the White Tiger to be a "generic" tiger as there are no longer any white tigers found in the wild. Since space is so limited for the breeding of current endangered cats, the Species Survival Plan (SSP) for felids recommends that the White Tiger is not bred. Once the current White Tigers have passed on there will no longer be White Tigers in the large zoos in the US. The same is true for the Siberian Tiger. They take up a lot of space due to their size and it is recommended that they be replaced with smaller cats. The SSP has taken a lot of time and there have been many discussions regarding breeding and space decisions for endangered cats. Though zoo guests may miss the White Tigers and Siberian Tigers, the survival of the more endangered and genetically important cats must be considered.
***Cat Tales is the home to both White Tigers and Siberian Tigers. As a rescue sanctuary, we won't breed our cats, but will provide homes for those that may need them. We currently have the large, strong areas to house these big cats. It would be a shame for our children to miss the experience of their majesty. We will do what is best for the animals and continue to work toward wildlife conservation, education, and endangered species survival.
Their friendly noise is called a "chuff" which is a greeting for those they know or like. They also have a deep growl or roar, and often call out to their family members an "ah-uuuu" sound. Tigers are solitary except at breeding time, but in captivity they are very social as long as their personal territory is not occupied by others. Siblings have been raised together and can be compatible until they mature, but will become territorial unless they are spayed or neutered early. Each grouping is different and as conditions vary, so does compatibility.
Tigers have five times the strength of a human athlete pound for pound. (This holds true for all cats except for the leopard and jaguar, which have 10 times the strength of an athlete of compatible size.) Tigers are carnivores, which means they are meat eaters. Their main prey in the wild is native mammals, in particular hoof-stock (deer, etc.). They will eat up to one-fifth of their body weight at one time and then won't hunt again for up to a week. When you look at tigers and you see the extra skin on their belly, it is so their stomachs can stretch to consume that much meat. The cats that eat on more of a regular basis (daily) have a tighter stomach area.
Also, 80% of a tigers weight is in the front half of their body. Along with sharp claws and long canines, this make it easier for them to take down large prey.
The gestation for tigers is 100-110 days. Litter size is normally 2 to 4. In the wild only one to two cubs will make it through the first year of life. In captivity the survival rate is higher, due to extensive research that has been done regarding both mother and hand raising protocol. Depending on the species of tiger, the cubs will weigh 2 to 4 pounds at birth and grow rapidly. All tigers, except for Siberians, mature at ~3 years of age. (Siberian Tigers, since they are the largest cats in the world, mature at ~5 years of age). The lifespan for captive tigers is 18 to 22 years of age (twice the age of wild tigers). Due to the specialized genetics of the White Tigers their captive lifespan is shorter - 15 to 18 years of age.
In order to keep the genetics clean in the white tigers and reduce the incidence of in-breeding, orange tigers are often bred with the whites. This produces heterozygeous tigers, which means they carry the white tiger gene and can possibly produce white cubs. This is all dependent on the total percentage of the white tiger gene in both parents. It does make for healthier and stronger tigers. Occasionally "tabby tigers" are part of the litter. They have orange fur and tan (not black) stripes.
The larger zoos consider the White Tiger to be a "generic" tiger as there are no longer any white tigers found in the wild. Since space is so limited for the breeding of current endangered cats, the Species Survival Plan (SSP) for felids recommends that the White Tiger is not bred. Once the current White Tigers have passed on there will no longer be White Tigers in the large zoos in the US. The same is true for the Siberian Tiger. They take up a lot of space due to their size and it is recommended that they be replaced with smaller cats. The SSP has taken a lot of time and there have been many discussions regarding breeding and space decisions for endangered cats. Though zoo guests may miss the White Tigers and Siberian Tigers, the survival of the more endangered and genetically important cats must be considered.
***Cat Tales is the home to both White Tigers and Siberian Tigers. As a rescue sanctuary, we won't breed our cats, but will provide homes for those that may need them. We currently have the large, strong areas to house these big cats. It would be a shame for our children to miss the experience of their majesty. We will do what is best for the animals and continue to work toward wildlife conservation, education, and endangered species survival.
All White Tigers are descendants from Mohan, the last white tiger captured in the wild in the 1950's. No additional information has come forward regarding any other more recent sightings of the white tiger in the wild, so it is assumed that Mohan was the last. For detailed information on the lineage of the white tiger we recommend the Wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_tiger.