Three white Bengal tiger cubs sit in a cage at Buenos Aires' Zoo February 8, 2007. A female white tiger named Betty gave birth to three cubs on December 23, 2006. (Marcos Brindicci/Reuters)
Posted on 02/08/2007 4:40:36 PM PST by NormsRevenge
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Three rare white tiger cubs delighted visitors at the Buenos Aires zoo on Thursday, tumbling in the grass of their enclosure in their first public appearance since being born late last year.
Zookeepers said the birth of the blue-eyed Bengal tiger triplets represented an important contribution to saving the animals from extinction.
"There are only about 250, not even 300, animals of this variety in captivity, so every birth in the Buenos Aires zoo contributes to saving this type of Bengal tiger," chief veterinarian Miguel Rivolta told Reuters Television.
Rivolta said the zoo's breeding record showed the tigers had exactly the right environment and diet, which includes 10 kg (22 pounds) of mutton twice a week as well as fresh poultry meat.
White tiger mother Bety gave birth to the cubs, two females and one male, on December 23 but Thursday was the first time zoo visitors were able to see them.
White tigers are a genetic variation of the better-known orange Bengal tigers.
Between 5,000-7,000 tigers live in the wild, down from 100,000 at the start of the 20th-century. Poaching, deforestation and over-hunting of their natural prey have hit their numbers.
"There's a big party every time there's a birthday at the zoo," Rivolta said. "It's a step forward for the conservation project."
Three white Bengal tiger cubs sit in a cage at Buenos Aires' Zoo February 8, 2007. A female white tiger named Betty gave birth to three cubs on December 23, 2006. (Marcos Brindicci/Reuters)
Three 45 days-old Bengal white tigers cubs are seen at their cage at the Buenos Aires Zoo Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007. Bety, a captive Bengal white tiger gave birth to two females and one male on Dec. 23, boosting these animals' endangered population. There are only 240 white tigers in the world. (AP Photo/Eduardo Di Baia)
"Las Malvinas Son Argentinas"
AWWWHHH!!!!!
They are soooo cute.
Pretty kitty ping.
I'm a sucker for blue eyes anyway, but .. Yes, they are cute. ;-)
Kitty ping!
ping
I was just about to post this!
These precious kitties!
Cute and born killers! :)
Awwwwwwwww.......
They're sooooooooooooo beautiful!
"They are soooo cute.
They make wonderful home pets.
I'd like to have a couple of them to add to my cats collection.
"Las Malvinas Son Argentinas"
I've got lots of Italian friends and relatives in Argentina and tell me the same phrase. It seems Italians do know how to run a hispanic country. Ditto for Venezuela.
Here is a typical White Tiger
Thanks for the ping. Wow! That one is almost totally snow white. I wonder if it's stripes will come out when it grows? Awesome creatures.
Ché, ¿podés agregarme a la lista argentina?
Mil gracias.
bump
No hay problema! ;-)
So cool! Please prove your point with true evidence other than a picture.
Please let us know what countries that you have been to with white tigers and your work with them.
You appear to be the real expert so please let us know all of your inside knowledge.
I would love to work with tigers and according to your post either you do or have or you would not know so much about them.
So cool!
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