Snow Tigers
The Truth About Snow Tigers
Many questions have circulated around the facts of the true snow tigers; what are they? Where do they live? What is their real name?
There is some controversy as to which breed snow tigers really belong. There are those who attribute the name to the weather condition of snow, which would indicate that snow tigers are actually the Siberian tiger; the largest of the big cat family. The Siberian does make its habitat in the harshest regions of any of the tiger subspecies including snow. Orange fur with a white underbelly, inner legs and facial markings, striped with dark chocolate colored bands throughout, the Siberian tiger does not make any other semblance of a species called snow tigers.
Snow leopards are another possibility for the moniker “snow tigers”. Smaller than the other big cats, snow leopards have adapted to living in very cold, mountainous regions of central Asia. Pale fur of light gray to tan grows long and thick on these stocky cats, with dark spots dispersed across the entire body. While living in the snow covered environments gives it its name of snow leopard, it would be stretch to change the cat species to give them the connotation of being snow tigers.
The most likely cat breed that the term “snow tigers” refers to is the white Bengal tiger. Evolving as a result of recessing genes, these snow tigers more aptly fit the descriptive name. Ranging from creamy white fur and chocolate stripes to off-white with the palest of stripes, the white Bengal offer the snowy appearance one would expect of snow tigers, although they do not have snow conditions in their natural habitat. The white Bengal is native to India, where warm, humid conditions in the dense forests provide a home for the few truly wild snow tigers left in existence. The majority of the 200 remaining white Bengal tigers live in captivity in India, while yet others reside in zoos across the world.
One last reference to snow tigers is for the Royal White Bengal tiger. This tiger is one that many feel to be a human generated animal of the tiger species. White tiger cubs are born due to a recessive gene they inherit from a mother and father who both also have the gene. Cubs may or may not end up white, as it is dependant on the chromosome match they receive. These “snow tigers” are a matter of great debate in the science world, as the cats are being specially bred for the sole purpose of the entertainment of humans, with grievous consequences to the animals themselves.
When you hear the term “snow tigers”, it could very well pertain to any of these animals, although perhaps not quite correctly. The most accurate reference for snow tigers is the white Bengal tiger; a magnificent creature by any name.