Unlike the white rhino, the white tiger received their name because of their color. The White Tiger is an eye-catching species of tiger that lives in Southeast Asia and various parts of India. This species is so unique because they’re the only species of tiger that have black and white stripes, unlike the others who have orange and black. However, they are not just born with those colors, they have a color mutation called leucism (the loss of pigmentation that causes white coloration). This beautiful creature is unfortunately extinct in the wild; only 200 remain living in captivity. Half are located in India and the rest in private sanctuaries and zoos.
The last wild white tiger was, of course, killed by a human in 1958. Their population has only been able to grow to 200 because with the aid of breeding within the sanctuaries and zoos. One of the main reasons that they are extinct in the wild is because of human desire. Since these tigers are rare and are known for their appearance, humans are more likely to use them for entertainment purposes such as circuses. The trainers catch them in the wild, breed them, and then force them to perform by jumping through hoops of fire. Other horrible mistreatment tigers must endure in the circuses that are potentially fatal is that trainers starve them and abuse them so that the tigers are pressured to perform the next day.
The other two reasons why the white tiger is hunted constantly and their population is so low is because of trophy hunting and the exotic pet trade. Trophy hunting is where any citizen can go out and hunt animals just for “fun.” They have no reason at all for doing it; they do it just because they want to. They hunt this animal to kill it, and then take “fun” pictures with the corpses to show off their skills. The exotic pet trade is another horrible business that this species is forced to be in. Exotic pet traders earn billions of dollars. Hunters bring the animals to auctions or pet shops to sell them for at least $250,000.
Although there is so much abuse when it comes to the “care” of these animals, there are still people truly taking care of them and trying to increase their population. The main non-profit organization that is focused on saving these species is the World Wildlife Fund. They are protecting them in their sanctuaries and asking for donations in order to care for them.
Of course, the best thing anyone can do who doesn’t have an influence like the non-profit organizations do is spread awareness on this issue. The more society knows about this issue, the more support and donations we can gather to save this species and bring back their population to the wild.
If you would like to support this species please donate through this website:
