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The Indian White TigerThe Indian White Tigeror White Tiger of Bengal

-Biodiversity Project-

Stefan MazzadiGrade 6 Fessenden

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Scientific ClassificationScientific ClassificationFACT BOX

WHITE TIGER Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Panthera Species: P. Tigris Scientific Name:

Panthera Tigris Tigris

ROAR!

Meat-Eaters

Deadly Teeth

Endangered

Strong Claws

Can’t Camouflage

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Weighs from 140-300 kg 6.8-11 ft (2.4-3.3m) in length White with black or dark brown stripes Blue eyes rather than green or yellow The white tiger can run up to 96 kph Because of the color, they can’t camouflage in the jungle

AppearanceAppearance

White Tiger:White Tiger:

Subspecies of Tiger

with a defectivedefective

recessive generecessive gene that

produce its lack of lack of

orange colororange color

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Lived in tropical forests, mangrove swamps and moist jungles that generally support dense vegetation and have a good source of fresh water.

Once found throughout much of India and Bangladesh (Asia)

HabitatHabitat

White Tigers could once be found in the wild, now they live mostly in zoos.

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Female tigers reach maturity at 3 years old and male reach maturity at 4 years old

The gestation period is approximately 103 days

Male tigers do not stay with female tiger after mating neither does it help raise the cubs

The average litter size is 2 or 3 cubs (the largest is 5)

Female keep their cubs for 2-3 years until they can fend for themselves

In the wild they live for 10-15 years and in captivity they usually survive 16-20 years

Life CycleLife Cycle

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In the wild, tigers would eat pig, cattle and deer.

They can eat as much as 40 pounds of meat at one time! After such a big meal a tiger will not eat again for several days.

White Tigers posses 30 large teeth ranging from 2.5 to 3 inches.

Tigers do not hunt in social groups like lions. They are usually solitary animals.

What do White Tigers eat?What do White Tigers eat?

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The White Tiger has no predators since it is such a big and powerful animal

But they are severely affected by humans and have been for hundreds of years

Wild tigers are poached because their bones & whiskers are sold for big sums of money (they are used in traditional Chinese medicine)

In population numbers, white tigers might have disappeared from the wild forever!

PredatorsPredators

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Everything humans do to them has an impact on the plants and every animal around it

If one animal in the food web becomes endangered it can effect the rest of the ecosystem, with some animals getting rarer and others going up in number

Tigers need large territories, so reduced habitats means that fewer tigers can survive in the wild

By saving one tiger, around 25,000 acres of forest can be preserved and you are also saving hundreds of other species

Contribution to the Diversity Contribution to the Diversity of Lifeof Life

sunplants

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Humans destroy their habitats for roads, cities, farms

With the habitat shrinking there is also a decline in the White Tiger’s prey so populations are becoming increasingly hard to sustain

Human Impact on Natural EnvironmentHuman Impact on Natural Environment

When humans move more into the forest, groups of tigers are separated so tigers from one area cannot mate with the ones nearby It is estimated that every day in India one tiger is killed

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You can stop cutting down the forests (their homes)Stop the trading of their fur, claws, teeth, and eyesHelp breed them to get the population upStop polluting so they don’t get poisonedThe government is making nature reserves and national parks

to save themPoachers make good game-keepers who protect wild animals,

many poachers have been offered jobs in national parks as to breaking the law

Ex-poachers are skilled at tracking rare animals so they know were hunters are likely to strike

What can be done for the What can be done for the specie’s survivalspecie’s survival

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The life span of tigers in the wild is about 10 years. Tigers in zoos live twice as long.

No one knows exactly why tigers are striped, but scientists think that the stripes act as camouflage, and help tigers hide from their prey.

Tiger stripes are like human fingerprints; no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes.

Like domestic cats, tiger claws are retractable. Tiger scratches on trees serve as territorial markers.

Tiger cubs are born blind and weigh only about 2 to 3 pounds (1 kg). They live on milk for 6-8 weeks before the female begins taking them to kill to feed.

Tigers have fully developed canines by 16 months of age, but they do not begin making their own kills until about 18 months of age.

Interesting FactsInteresting Facts

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They are found in a variety of habitats including tropical forests, mangrove swamps and moist jungles.

None have been seen in the wild for 50 years!

Conflicts often arise between tigers and elephants even though elephants do not serve as a gentle prey for white tigers.

Despite the beauty of the White Tiger’s fur, it does in fact give these individuals a disadvantage as they are not so easily camouflaged into the surrounding jungle.

The White Tiger is a large and powerful animal that can weigh up to 300kg and reaches more than 3 meters in length.

Interesting FactsInteresting Facts

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ReferencesReferences Websites (Sept.20-Oct.14 2012): Indian Tiger. http://www.indiantiger.org/white-tigers/white-

bengal-tiger.html A-Z animals. http://a-z-animals.com/animals/white-tiger/ Tiger Homes.

http://www.tigerhomes.org/cam/white_tiger.cfm National Geographic.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/bengal-tiger/?source=A-to-Z

World Wild Life. http://worldwildlife.org/species/bengal-tiger

Books: Endangered Animals. DK Eyewitness Books. 2010. Encyclopedia of Animals. Dorling Kindersley Book. 2006.

Thank you!