White Tiger Triplets: Rare White Bengal Cubs Born At Czech Zoo [Video]
Three rare Indian white Bengal tiger cubs were introduced to the world Monday at a zoo in the Czech Republic.
The triplets — two males and one female — were originally born on July 1, 2012 and are living with their four-year-old mother, Surya Bara, at the Zoo Liberec.
The UK’s Daily Mail reports the white Bengal cubs were the first born at the zoo in 10 years and that, during a veterinary examination in August, the two males weighed around 15lbs and the female around 14lbs.
White Bengal tigers, which are rarely found in the wild because they stand out in the jungle, hindering their efforts to catch prey, are neither an albino nor a separate subspecies.
Instead, they are a result of a rare recessive gene.
Compared to normal colored tigers without the white gene, white tigers tend to be somewhat bigger than original tigers, both at birth and as fully grown big adults.
While males weigh 440-500lbs and grow up to nine feet in length, females are generally in the 285-375lb range and grow up to eight feet long.
According to the Indian Tiger Welfare Society, white tigers in the wild live for about 10 to 15 years while tigers in zoos usually survive 16 and 20 years.
At the beginning of this century, it is estimated that there were 100,000 wild tigers; today the number is believed to be between 5,000 and 7,400.
Check out raw video footage showing the the white Bengal tiger triplets playing, eating, and cuddling with their mom below:
