How much do you know about the 5 cold facts about white tigers?
When it comes to the white tiger, we always think of the four phases of Our myths and legends: the green dragon, the white tiger, the suzaku, and the Xuanwu. In fact, in reality, there is also a white tiger, which is a kind of beautiful cat that can be seen in many zoos in China. Regarding the White Tiger, there are still many misunderstandings. Let's take a look at 5 trivia about the White Tiger!
1. The white tiger is not a tiger with albinism
White tigers are often misunderstood as tigers with albinism, when in fact white tigers are caused by genetic mutations. If a tiger suffers from albinism, it will not have markings on its body; in reality, white tigers have dark brown or black stripes.
2. Only Bengal tigers can appear white tigers
Although the white tiger is produced by genetic mutation, in fact, of all tiger subspecies, only the Bengal tiger can produce the white tiger. Tiger subspecies such as the Siberian tiger, the South China tiger, and the Sumatran tiger cannot undergo genetic mutations to produce white tigers. So the White Tiger is also known as the Bengal White Tiger.
3. White tigers are extremely difficult to survive in the wild
In myths and legends, the White Tiger is a super powerful divine beast. In reality, although white tigers are as strong as ordinary tigers, they cannot survive well in the wild, because they lack protective colors, are easy to be found by prey, and hunting will be very difficult. There are currently no wild white tigers in the world.
4. All white tigers in the world are the descendants of a white tiger
Now, all the white tigers in the world live in captivity, and incredibly, they are all descendants of a white tiger. In 1951, a male white tiger under the age of 1 was captured in India and named it "Mohan". Mohan grew up in a zoo, sexually matured with a normal-skinned female Bengal tiger named Begum, and then people let Mohan mate with one of its female offspring, eventually giving birth to a white tiger... Now the white tigers of the whole world are the blood of Mohan. It can be said that the white tiger is the result of human intervention in nature.
5. The life span of the white tiger is generally shorter
Although the white tiger lives in captivity, eats well and sleeps well, it is difficult to encounter life-threatening things, so it is reasonable to say that the life span should be very long, but the life span of the white tiger is not as long as that of the general Bengal tiger in captivity. This is because the white tiger is faced with the problem of inbreeding (as mentioned in point 4), which will lead to a great increase in the probability of genetic diseases and physical deformities in the offspring, weakening resistance and shortening lifespan.
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