The White Bengal Tiger is one of the most priced breeds of tigers found in India. These are royal and charismatic in appearance.These are often termed as the Great Cats.

The White Bengal Tiger is found in India and South East Asia, Siberia, part of China (extinct in Java). Amongst the dark ,deep and dense woods of the Sunderbans the White Bengal Tiger rules the wild- wild world.Within the estuarine canals and the perplexing surroundings the royal king of the wild resides in perfect ease. There exists a possibility for the adventurer to decipher the wild paradise by following the pugmark on the mud.

White Tiger in danger

If we turn back the history of the wild we may find that the Royal Bengal Tiger once ruled the royal ambience of this region. Due to the spate of deforestation and destruction of the natural habitats there has been a drastic fall in the Tiger population, Project Tiger was implemented in 1973 and later Sundarban Tiger Reserve was demarcated over 2,585-sq-kms. The core area of 1330-sq-kms has been declared a National Park and has been chosen as a World Heritage Site in order to preserve the Wild Bengal Tiger. The white colour of the Bengal Tiger does not help the tiger to protect itself rather it standsout and is easily identifiable.

The original home of the White Bengal Tiger

The forests of Bandhavgarh are the white tiger jungles of the past. However, no white tigers have been reported from the wild in the last 50 years, and it is believed that less than a dozen have been seen in India in about a hundred years. And yet when white tigers were sighted, it was right here in Bandhavgarh.

Zoological Name : Panthera tigris

Range
The white tiger origin was recorded in India during the start of the HB Mughal period from 1556 to 1605 A.D.

Endangered
During the last 100 years, only about 12 such white tigers have been seen in India, resulting in 1 in every 10,000. Ancestry traces back to a single white male known as Mohan, captured in 1959. The Maharajah who captured the Mohan soon figured out the only way to produce additional white tigers was to breed him to his own daughter. Becoming the first generation in this century. Prices for a white tiger today start at $60,000.

Some Interesting facts about White Tiger
» Siberian Tiger is the biggest cat in the world reaching a size of 650 lbs.
» Can jump 30 feet in a single leap.
» Tigers are the only big cats that enjoy going into water.
» There are only 200 white tigers left in the world. The last spotting of a White Bengal Tiger in the wild was in central India in 1951.
» It is from this animal that all White Tigers in captivity today have decended.
» Three of the sub species of tigers are now extinct from human hunting.
» Some analysis predict that Tigers may go extinct after the turn of the century.

White Bengal Tigers in India.
» Bandhavgarh National Park
» Nandankanan Zoo ( near the capital city , Orissa)
» Corbett National Park
» Ranthambhore National Park