So many animals are threatened with extinction. Why do we allow this to happen, when we could, if we chose to, stop it?
Why I like tigers
I just adore tigers! They are the most beautiful, majestic creatures. Strong, quiet, powerful, yet loving and caring towards their young. Something I have in common with them is their love of food! THEY ARE SOOOOOOO CUTE! I mean, all tigers are cute, but WHITE TIGERS ARE SU-PERRRRRRRRR CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!! With their gorgeous blue eyes and dense white fur.
Fascinating Tiger Facts
It may surprise you that a white tiger is not an albino. It actually carries a rare gene passed down from both its mother and father. The only pure species of white tiger in the world is the White Bengal Tiger from central India.
Mother tigers care for their young really well. Despite being normally solitary creatures who live alone, they make an exception for raising cubs. A mother will stay with her offspring for the first two to three years, until they are mature enough to look after themselves.
All tigers love water and are excellent swimmers, but when it comes to climbing trees, they’re not so great! They rarely climb, as they are simply too heavy.
Compared to other big cats, tigers are quite slow. They don’t catch their prey by chasing it but by stalking it, then pouncing at the last minute, just like your pet cat would at home. Their preferred time to hunt is around dawn or dusk, or during the night.
In the wild, white tigers normally live around 10 to 15 years. But those kept in captivity, such as in zoos, can live between 16 to 20 years. Their lifespan is shorter than the orange tiger, as they tend to suffer from a weak immune system.
Unlike lions, tigers don’t hunt in social groups in the wild. They are quite solitary animals, preferring to live alone. They hunt mostly small prey, including fish, monkeys, deer or wild pigs. Sometimes they stray into farmland and take livestock such as cattle, pigs or goats. This is unfortunate, as it causes anger from the local people. Tigers have big appetites and can eat an entire deer at one time! But, it isn’t unusual for them to go for several days without eating at all.
Tigers have the largest canine teeth of all the big cats, they can grow to between two and a half to three inches long. Wow, I wouldn’t want to brush those every day! They also have powerful claws to hold down their prey.
Are the Tigers Days Numbered?
Many species of tiger are now extinct, including the Javan, Bali and Caspian tigers. Others that still survive today include the Bengal, Sumatran, Siberian, Indo Chinese, Malayan, and South China, although no wild South China tigers have been seen for the last 25 years.
I think it’s really sad, but there are fewer than 8,000 wild tigers left in the world today. At the beginning of the last century, this number was closer to 100,000. The cause is mostly down to man, destroying their natural habitat and hunting them towards extinction. Although tigers are a protected species and are considered endangered, unbelievably, man still hunts them for sport, as well as to protect livestock.
You may think that tigers won’t become extinct because they are bred in captivity by zoos, wildlife parks, and circuses. Perhaps you’ve even seen a beautiful white Bengal tiger in captivity, but sadly ALL the white tigers in captivity have been bred from one single male tiger. He was called Mohan and was the last white Bengal tiger to ever be seen in the wild. He was captured in 1951, from Rewa in Central India.
Because all the white tigers in captivity are Mohan’s descendants, they are typically very inbred or crossed with other species of tiger, making them no longer pure Bengal tigers.
Although people breeding white tigers say they are doing it to protect the species, it is clearly not the truth. A white tiger can create more public interest than an orange tiger, meaning more money to be made. This is so wrong! Man should not play God. It is far more important we preserve natural habitats for animals to survive in the wild and put an end to all this destruction. It’s not just tigers, white or orange, that are endangered by our greed, but 1000’s of other animal species too.
I don’t want to live in a concrete jungle! I want to live in a green world, filled with amazing birds and animals. Don’t you?
Reference material: www.indiantiger.org & www.animalsake.com
Wow! Such a heartfelt essay and a pleasure to read. Lots of good information about tigers. Well written from such a young girl.
How beautifully written, straight from the heart whilst being very informative. I did not know some of those facts, so thank you. I like you do not want to live in a concrete jungle either! Xx
A very well written and considered piece. It wanted you to read to the end. She really knows her subject and is passionate about it. I hope she goes far. I wish there were more young people with such talent and passion. Very well done.
Fantastic writing Amy, some great facts and a great read. I love tigers too 😊
Wow what a great blog.
I love tigers too and it breaks my heart knowing they are struggling to survive in the wild because of mankind.
Keep up the good work and keep spreading the message.
Amazing writing and I have learnt some new information about Bengal white tigers I didn’t know before thank you 😊
Awesome work Amy! I love all the facts, you must have done a lot of research! It’s so great to see someone speaking for the tigers, I’m with you! x
And now I am going to google everything I can about White Bengel Tigers! Thanks for the info Amy and showing your passion in your writing!
What à wonderful article.
Very well written.
Majestic creatures are tigers. So wonderful to see a young person so interested in wildlife.
What a great closing statement! Yes Amy, that’s what I would rather too!
Well done Amy for such a well researched and heartfelt essay!
Well done Amy brilliant essay, well researched.
Very interesting, I enjoyed reading! X
Amazing article written clearly, simply and passionatly with heaps of information, some of which is new to me at my ripe old age.
An interesting and well written piece. Excellent.
I don’t want to live in that ‘concrete jungle’ either Amy.
An EXCELLENT piece and needs to be seen, read and appreciated by everyone.
Well done with this piece of writing, it is heartening to know that ‘the future of critical thinking and great writing is safe for another generation, at least with one young girl.
Fantastic job Amy, and YAY to living in a beautiful world full of animals and not a concrete jungle!
Another young voice showing the adult world how things should be done, well done Amy.
Thanks Amy, for such an interesting article. Informative, but with such a light touch! Warm and passionate, leaves us wanting to know more about such an important issue. Well done and keep writing. You have so much talent.
Well researched Amy ..enjoyed your article very much …. thank you for caring
Well written and you are clearly passionate about your subject. It is wonderful to see such caring thoughts, a rarity today. Good luck with the competition.
Intriguing details and memorable end statement – thank you for great writing!
What a very interesting and well researched article Amy and so well written, thank you! Good luck with the competition.
It was a delight to read this well written article, I really felt that the writer had a lot of knowledge about these amazing white tigers, her enthusiasm for her subject, wonderful..it was lovely to learn so much about the tigers..well done and thank you for the beautifully written piece
Great article; very insightful and well researched. Very well written too.
Great piece of written work
Eloquent and informative, a great piece of writing. Well done.
A well written and very informative article well done 💖
Beautiful
Thank you so much, this was so well written and so full of information. I learnt so much. Well done!
I really enjoyed reading this. I read this to my son, as so many interesting facts.
Thank you.
Excellent read Amy. Thank you.
I don’t know you personally but I sure do now know a lot more about the white tiger and the importance of protecting such a species after reading your piece.
Thank you for your informative essay. It is interesting, fun, important and written in such a way that readers of all ages and walks of life can connect with the cause and learn.
It is so inspiring that at age 10 you show a passion for conservation. I too don’t want to live in a concrete jungle. May your essay reach many readers.
Well done Amy very inspiring work.
Fabulous piece Amy , very well written and researched .
Well written article. Fantastic that young people are getting their voices heard. Lots of us 30-40 somethings tried but to ko avail. Hopefully the world is ready to listen now. Thank you Amy for your hard work and research
A well written and informative article, particularly as it is written by someone so young. Her passion about the subject shines through.
Well done Amy. It’s lovely to know that our youngsters really care for our wildlife. Good luck x
A thoughtful well written and researched article. Extremely well done and one to be proud of.
A really easy read, just the right balance of facts and subjective opinion. Well done Amy
Interesting factual article. Very well researched, good work.
What an interesting article you have written Amy. I have learned a lot about the Bengal White Tiger from reading it.
Thank you so much Amy, I have learnt so much. Well done !!