So you think you want a Lion or Tiger for a pet?
Our position regarding private ownership is simply that we have no position. It is not our place to sit in judgment of others. We are neither a sanctioning body nor a regulating agency. We simply provide Pets to wanted homes. But since a great many of the Animals living at WATTPETS have gone to so many private ownership, we feel that it is right and proper to let you know what you are getting into before you possibly cost an innocent animal his or her life.
Anyone who wants to possess a big Animal should do so only with the knowledge of how to do it, and with the commitment to care for it properly for the duration of its natural life.
Such specialized knowledge can only come from experience. Big Animals are dangerous. They can kill you. There is much to know about big Animals behavior in general, and the species in particular, before you even entertain the thought of ownership.
This knowledge cannot be obtained in the time it takes for a cub to become dangerous. It would be akin to learning to skydive having never seen a parachute until you jumped, and even more dangerous.
Responsibility to care for the pet for the duration of its life can only come from having a location where you will not have to move, the ability to get the proper diet and veterinary care, an enclosure that is safe and large enough, and the financial ability to provide all this.
Big Animals are not house pets!
So. You want a big Animal as a pet? Perhaps a sweet little lion cub that you can cuddle with. There's nothing that will love you like a lion cub. Or maybe a tame cougar who can stay in your house and sleep on the bed with you. Before you run out and get a big Animal there is some important information you should not only know, but fully accept.
The first set rule is that "big cat" and "pet" do not belong in the same sentence. Big cats cannot be "tamed completely" in the common sense of the word. They are, and always will be creatures of the wild.
A big Lion is not a house Pet. It does not stay small forever. In fact, lions and tigers soon begin growing at a rate of five pounds per week. When you finally figure out that you can't keep it, it is practically impossible to find a home for it other than a cemetery.
So you should first become aware of what private ownership of big Animals is like. Talk to some people who have big Animals . Learn the lengths you must go just to get the proper diet for your Animals.
Do you have experience in handling big Animals? If not, you shouldn't even consider ownership. Do you have children? If so, leave this page now. Too many children have been permanently disfigured or killed by their parents' big cats, go for a small cub from the ages of 3 to 18 months. Both the children and big Animals pay for their parents and owners' stupidity.
This page looks at some of the facts and fantasies of big Animals ownership, and tells you some of the preparations you should make before obtaining a big animals.
Fantasy: I can show it enough love and affection that it would never want to harm me. Fact: They know you love them, and they love you. But you cannot suppress the instincts that tell them to jump on you from behind and bite you on the back of the neck. They're only playing as they would do with another cat. But our skin is like tissue paper compared to theirs, and they don't know that. A big cat could playfully kill you and wonder why you didn't come to feed it the next day. The house cat has been domesticated for thousands of years, but even their instinct is still fully intact.
Fantasy: Don't feed it red meat and it will never develop its wild instincts (taste of blood, you know). Fact: I never get over how ridiculous that line of thought is but I hear it a lot. Would you rather face a lion with a belly full of red meat than a hungry one? The truth is that it makes no difference. Man is not the natural prey of the big cats.
Fantasy: I will spend hours with it every day. Fact: In the beginning you may spend a lot of time with the cat. But it's difficult to spend the amount of time necessary, every day, to properly train the cat not to bite and claw. And pretty soon it gets old and you have other things to do, like making a living. Or it gets too rough for you to handle and then gets stuck in a cage. Lonely and forgotten.
Fantasy: It wouldn't harm the children. Fact: The smallest and weakest of any species is the natural prey for big cats. Even dogs attack children first.
Fantasy: I can get enough downed cows from farmers to feed it. Fact: So what are you going to do if some cows don't die, starve your cat?
Fantasy: If it gets too much to handle I can sell it or send it to a zoo. Fact: Suffice it to say that zoos will not take them. That subject is covered elsewhere. About the only places who will pay for a big cat are hunting ranches or people who want their skins.
Fantasy: The neighbors will love it. Fact: Perhaps. But many will not. They will fear it will get out and kill their children and dogs. And unless the regulations in your state are tough, they may have a valid fear, depending on the type of enclosure you have. And it takes only a few disgruntled neighbors to cause you some serious problems.
Fantasy: I can always move to the country and build a big enclosure for it. Fact: Enclosures are very expensive to build. Moving is also expensive and a hassle. Do you really think you will do that?
Education and Reference
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It
has been said that if there were as many tigers are there are house
cats, there would be as many colors of tigers are there are colors of
house cats. I don't know if that would be true, but there are definitely
different colors of tigers. The orange colored tiger with black
stripes is, of course, the most prevalent. There are different shades of
orange ranging from almost yellow to dark burnt orange.
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The
stripes also vary in shade, size and abundance. Some tigers will have
dark, wide stripes while some have fewer stripes that are narrower.
It
is interesting to note that every stripe pattern is unique. No two
tigers are marked the same, much like a person's fingerprints.
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A
tiger is born with all the stripes it will ever have, and there appears
to be more stripes than coloring. But as the cub grows the stripes move
farther apart because everything is expanded at the same rate. It's
kind of like writing on a rubber band while it is stretched. Relaxing it
causes the letters to appear closer together.
Color and
striping is controlled by gene groups that are inherited from the
parent's genes, the same as hair color in humans. A person may have dark
hair and that would be the trait they most likely would pass on to
their children, especially if both parents have the same color gene. ve either color hair.
Recessive genes are what
cause different color variations - in tigers as well as people. It is
what causes a white tiger to be born from two standard colored parents. For
example, suppose you have blo If
one parent has a dark hair, and the other has blond hair, the child
will usually have dark hair because the gene for dark hair is dominant.
In order for the child to have blonde hair, the parent with dark hair
must also have a recessive gene for blonde hair. Then the child has a
50/50 chance to hande hair and both your parents have dark
hair, and the postman is not responsible. That would mean that somewhere
in the ancestry of both your parents, there would be someone with
blonde hair. If both parents have dark hair but carry the recessive
gene for blonde hair, there is a one in four chance that the child will
have blonde hair. |
There
are three definite colors of tigers; standard orange with black
stripes, white with black or dark stripes, and the golden tiger with
cinnamon stripes. For the sake of simplicity I will stay away from the
scientific terms such as heterozygous (white gene carrier) and
melanistic (black; the color phase of your black cat is called
melanistic) and use the layman's terms.
Why are there different
colors in the first place? The answer I will provide here is based on
both scientific evidence and my personal theories. I am aware that I am
opening myself up to much criticism, but what the heck: I was not around
the hundreds or thousands of years ago when tiger colors were being
defined, and neither was anyone is the scientific or zoological
community, so I figure that my theories are as good as theirs.
Tigers,
like most predators, use coloring as camouflage. If their prey cannot
see them they can get closer before the actual attack and are more
likely to have dinner. The tiger's normal colors of orange with black
stripes allows them to blend easily in the jungles or in grass. Their
stark white areas break up the pattern, as sunlight would through trees,
bushes or grass. |
Tigers
attack with a burst of speed. They are able to cover short distances
with remarkable quickness, but they are too heavy, and use too much
energy to cover any significant distance. Given notice, gazelle and
sambar can easily outrun a tiger.
This is why the unique and
beautiful color of the tiger is essential to their survival, so they can
get close enough to their prey before it is aware that it
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It
is said that a white tiger would have no chance of survival in the
wild, that their coloring provides no camouflage to speak of. Although
white is a good camouflage color (try to spot a white cockatoo in a
green tree), white tigers do not camouflage well in a jungle setting. On the other hand, a normal colored tiger is very difficult to spot in foliage even when you know where they are.
So
why are there white tigers in the first place? Many in the zoological
community seem to think that white tigers were the result of an errant
gene mutation, and there was never a significant number of them in the
wild.
However, I have a different theory that I have held for a long time. |
It
is generally accepted that the Bengal, Indochinese and other Asian
tigers migrated there from colder climates hundreds, perhaps thousands
of years ago.
That is easy for me to believe, because if you
know tigers at all you know that they have difficulty tolerating hot
climates even today. But they are entirely comfortable taking a nap on a
frozen over pool. Our tigers are far more active in cooler or cold
weather than during the summer months.
If this is true, then we have to take another look at camouflage and white tigers. |
Given
the obvious facts; 1) there is a lot of snow in colder climates, 2)
tigers like colder weather and are adept in the snow, and 3) a white
tiger would camouflage better in snow that a normal orange colored
tiger, is it possible that the ancestors of today's tigers were white?
Polar bears are white so they will blend with the environment. Did you
ever see a black polar bear? If white tigers camouflaged better in the
snow country, they would have been more successful in killing prey, and
therefore stronger and producing more like themselves. A darker tiger
would have not eaten as well and most likely would not have survived. As
the tigers began moving to the warmer climates the reverse would take
place, with the white tigers having problems. It would make sense that
the tigers who ate better would be stronger, live longer and produce
more like themselves. |
Many
zoological "experts" have proposed to breed the white tigers to
extinction; that is, do not breed any tigers that are white or carry the
white gene and eventually there will be no more. Many institutions have
made a lot of money in the past by exhibiting white tigers. In the
mid-80's it was reported that there were less than 300 white tigers in
existence, and the going price for them was between $60,000 and
$100,000.Today, that number is more likely in the thousands, and they
can be purchased in the private market for sometimes well under $10,000.
It is interesting that now, when white tigers are available to any
interested party, those who profited from them immensely want them to be
extinct.
Their reasoning is that all white tigers in this
country today are descendants of Mohini, a white tiger who was a direct
descendant of Mohan, the first known captive white tiger.
Mohini
was brought to this country in 1960, and was the result of extensive
inbreeding. The inbreeding continued here, and as a result, many of the
white tiger cubs today are born with debilitating deformities, and must
be destroyed. Those who grow into adulthood often suffer from hip and
back problems, weakened immune systems and crossed eyes. (See the White
Tigers of Rewa.) |
But
many believe there is another bloodline of white tigers in this
country, myself included. And if this can be proven, we should not allow
white tigers to become extinct until we know more about the first
tigers, and their true colors. There must be a reason they are white.
At WATT PETS we have learned from the different colors of tigers here,
and from other experts, that the cats of different colors have different
characteristics and disposition traits associated with each color. What
is this an indication of?
We do know that the larger of many
species are the gentler, i.e., palm cockatoos, hyacinth macaws, whales,
and Siberian tigers. Is it possible that the larger has fewer enemies
and therefore less reason for ferocity? And if this is true, what is the significance of the different traits of different colored tigers?
Even
though white tigers are born from pure Bengal tigers, they are always
larger and have more fur. So the gene group that produces white tigers
also make them more adaptable for cold weather.
White tigers
always have blue eyes. Lighter colors reflect light better. Could this
help the white tiger to see their prey better when the sunlight is
reflecting off the snow?
The scientific communities are
constantly replacing what was thought to be fact with new fact. It was
taught as true yesterday, but something else is true today.
It
is my position that no color of tiger be allowed or forced to become
extinct until we know more about why there are different colors in the
first place. It is possible that in the white tiger we are seeing a
tiger that is much older than those swiftly becoming extinct in the
wild. |
"OK . . . but wait! What about the Siberian tigers? They still live in the cold country," you exclaim.
True.
But what do we know about the Siberian tigers? They are larger and very
distinct from the other subspecies. They have more fur and are usually
darker in color. They are thinner when seen from the front or rear. They
have a knot on the back of their head that looks like someone placed an
egg under their scalp. They usually have more white around their eyes
and a gentle, teddy-bear look to their face.
But, of course, we
don't know what we don't know. Russia has only recently allowed any
significant study on the tigers there. When did the Siberian tiger
arrive in Siberia? Was it before, or after the species' coats became
predominately orange? |
Extremely
rare, and strikingly beautiful, the golden tiger, or golden tabby as it
is often called, in a unique and individual color in its own right.
They range in color from light gold to reddish gold. Their stripes are
cinnamon colored rather than black. At last count (12/97) there were
less than thirty golden tigers in the world, all in captivity.
The
first appearance of the golden tiger in captivity was in 1983, when an
unusual cub was born to Croatian born Dr. Josip Marcan. Dr. Marcan had
over thirty years experience in tiger husbandry at that time, and is
considered an international authority on tiger behavior and husbandry
today.
The cub was born from standard colored Bengal tigers.
There were two cubs in the litter, one standard and the golden cub. Dr.
Marcan was surprised and elated, but he knew what he had. He had worked
with tigers and studied them in different parts of the world all his
adult life. And he had researched the genetics of tiger coat colors and
knew of sightings of the golden tiger in India in the early 1900's. |
All
golden tigers are Bengal and the result of a recessive gene the same as
with white tigers. Which brings up a question; was the golden tiger
part of a possible evolution from white to the now normal orange? Golden
tigers are also larger and furrier than their standard siblings, and
their fur is softer.
The golden tiger is not recognized by the
zoological community as a pure Bengal tiger so it is unlikely that you
will see them in zoos. That is unfortunate for the public at large
because they will be deprived from seeing such magnificent display of
natural beauty. Had the first golden tiger been born to an AZA zoo
participating in the Species Survival Plan, I suspect these tigers would
have been almost the sensation the first white tigers were. |
Some
say that the golden tiger is actually a hybrid. One fellow told me that
golden tigers are produced by breeding a liger (lion/tiger hybrid) with
a white tiger. Balderdash. Cross breeding always produces a combination
of the two species, or races. For example, breed a horse with a donkey
and you get a mule, which is a combination of the two. Breed a lion and a
tigress and you get ligers. It makes no difference how many cubs are
born, they are all ligers. You don't get one lion cub and two tiger
cubs. Ligers always have faint stripes from the tiger side, but most of
their traits comes from the lion.
If Caucasian and Oriental humans produce children they are a combination of characteristics of both parents. |
On
the other hand, golden, white and orange cubs have been born from
normal orange colored parents, in the same litter. This would not be
possible with cross species breeding. |
The
proposition that there was at one time a species of white tiger, in its
own right, is my own theory and is not based upon any scientific
findings, although it is held by others who know tigers. As far as I
know, there has been no research into that possibility, although there
should be. |
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About Us
Buy a Tiger online? NOW it's possible
Our stores provide you the most original pets EVER!
It was a dream until yesterday, now it's true. Directly from our Tiger, Cheetah, jaguar, bar, Fox, Leopard, Lion, Chimpanzee and Monkey breeding's, we give you the possibility to buy a tiger ONLINE and
without any trouble.
Tiger is probably the strongest feline predator on earth, but you will
discover that it can be a lovely pet as well, loyal, friendly and
TOTALLY HARMLESS.
We have been shipping tigers worldwide since 2001, giving our lucky
customers the chance to own the most fashionable animal in earth.
We ship the tigers via Air and sea everywhere in the world, .
Obviously, a tiger isn't an animal for everyone. This is for true nature
lovers and purists, and it comes 3 months old, already trained to be
nice with its owner, to eat meat and respond to basilar voice orders.
We'll send you the training manual together with your little tiger, that
will let you know EVERYTHING about this marvelous animal, his/her diet,
training and health.
Obviously, you will need much more information before you purchase a Tiger and make a reservation. You can MAIL US with all of your questions, we'll send back as soon as possible.
The full Tiger Pack costs 1000$ and includes:
• a 3-6 months old female/male tiger
• The original HELLO TIGER guide
• An IVORY collar (ext. value: $200)
• Three tiger toys (ext. value: $160)
We only accept Credit Card, PayPal, money transfer or bank to bank transfer depending on the amount.
MAIL US for tigers lists and reservations.
Thank You Very Much for your interest. ROARRR!
• We are the ONLY ONES IN THE WORLD giving tigers for Adoption online
• We ONLY give out from tigers 3 months FEMALE/MALE tigers with vaccinations
• We Also Give out Lions, Chimpanzee, Cheetahs, jaguar, Fox, Leopard, Monkeys.etc
• We DON'T ship tigers in places not fitting their climate needs. Please mail us to know if you are eligible.
• We DON'T give out more than 5 tigers to single customers to stay at home with.Many tigers shouldn't stay together at home, for their safety, Except in a breeding farm.
ServicesOur services include training, daily walks, feeding, playing with your pet, grooming, and clean-up. You can rely on us whether you’re away for a few days or weeks. We also provide daily dog-walking services. And we are just a bark, meow, or chirp away!
The best Intentions!How does an Animal end up in an abusive and dangerous condition when its owner had the best of intentions? There are very few who set out to abuse a big cat, or who really don't care if their cats,Lions,Chimpanzee are living in abusive and painful situations.
So how does it happen? It is usually a progression of events rather than a single turning point.
Ten Steps to Disaster
The Pet Owner
1.
The purchase of a big cat in the first place. Everyone has good intentions, and it's really cool to have a lion or tiger for a pet. 2.
You haven't built an adequately sized enclosure but you think there will be adequate time before the cub is big enough to need it. In the meantime, it can live in the house and sleep in the dog carrier. 3.
You play with the cub. You tickle the cub's belly and let it jump on you. Your kids play with it the same way. The neighborhood kids do, too. It learns that it gets attention by biting and jumping on you. You don't know that you shouldn't allow the cub to do anything when it weighs ten pounds that you let it do when it weighs four hundred.
4.
Soon the cub is too big to let it play rough, but you have never taught it any different. You didn't realize that it would grow at a rate of five pounds per week. It hurts when it bites you. 5.
Your wife is afraid that the cub will hurt your kids, the neighbor's kids, or herself. She will no longer feed and clean up after it. And it can certainly stay in the house no longer. You are now solely responsible for it. 6.
You haven't even started on the enclosure. Gee, it grew fast. You don't want to even consider that you cannot handle the cub, or that you cannot teach it manners, or that you may have made a serious mistake. 7.
You hastily construct a small, temporary pen in the garage or back yard. It will do for now. All you really need to do is spend more time with it. 8.
You've had to work a lot of hours, and you're tired when you get home. You just haven't had the time to spend with the cub, which is now growing larger. It gets vicious and possessive when it even sees or smells its food. You are now afraid to even enter the pen with it so you through the food over the top. 9.
It is difficult to clean the pen without going inside, so you don't do it often. Your wife said she told you so, and is demanding that you get rid of the cub. The neighbors are complaining and the animal control people have been out. The newspaper article was not very flattering to you. 10.
How did it get to this point? And so quickly? You never meant any harm. Now you are threatened with lawsuits, people talk about you like you are an insane idiot, and your court date with the state wildlife people is coming up soon. And in spite of it all, you really love the Pet. It's not the pet's fault that you didn't know how to take care of it. It is too big and unruly now and no one wants it except people you are suspicious of. They are saying you may have to destroy it.
* And it all happens in only 6 to 10 months. Who would have known?
Education and Reference
Long ago and far away there was a prince who hunted tigers. In those days there were many tigers, and killing them was called sport. Man did not understand tigers then. They were beautiful, but he feared them. And man must kill that which is beautiful, and that which he fears. And Mother Earth wept
The most famous white tiger was captured in 1951 and obtained by his ex-Highness of Rewa, Shri Martand Singh.
During a hunt, the beaters drove a mother tigress into the machan where she was instantly shot. Then four cubs walked into the machan. One was white. Shots rang out and three cubs were dead, but the white cub had not been shot and escaped. The following day the Maharaja, seeing the opportunity for great profit, had the white cub found, captured, and brought it to his palace.
In 1953 a normal colored female was captured to provide a mate for the white tiger, who had been named Mohan. She was named Begum.
Mohan and Begum had three litters of cubs; two in the first and four each in the next two. All the cubs were normal colored. Determined to have white cubs, the Maharaja then began a breeding program guaranteed to produce them. He bred Mohan with Radha, Mohan's daughter from the second litter.
Mohan and Radha had three litters. The first litter produced four white tigers - one male and three females. The second litter was one normal (colored) female and two white males. The third produced four white cubs, two of which died.
Now things start to get a little complicated. Mohan and Radha, who were father and daughter, had produced in their second litter Niladari, a white male, and Malini, a colored female but white gene carrier. So this brother and sister (from the same litter) who were the offspring of a father and daughter, were bred together. They produced seven litters of cubs. Many were white, but several were stillborn or died shortly after birth, as could be expected at this point.
After this, many more white tigers were produced from inbreeding; parent to sibling and sibling to sibling. Many died or had to be destroyed because of deformities.
In 1960 the Radio Corporation of America purchased Mohini and donated her to the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Mohini's parents were Mohan and Radha. Her mother and her sister were one and the same.Now the action moves to the United States.
Mohini was the first white tiger to come enter the United States and was of great celebrity. She was even visited by President Eisenhower. Of course, other zoos then wanted white tigers, too. And they were worth a lot of money.
Mohini was mated here with Sampson, her normal colored half-brother. Their first litter produced one white cub and two normal colored cubs. Only the colored male, Ramana, survived. The second litter produced two cubs but neither were white. One was stillborn but the female, Kesari survived.
Mohini, who had been born to her father and her sister, was now mated with her son, Ramana. Their first litter was Rawati, a white female, and a colored male who died. The next litter produced two white and three colored cubs. One was stillborn, three were said to be crushed by the mother, and Moni survived.
Then brother and sister, Ramana and Kesari, whose mother's father was also her grandfather, and whose father was the brother of their grandmother, were mated. They produced three white and one colored cub.
Kesari was then mated with Poona, who was from an outside gene pool. They produced six colored cubs. All died but one. Who could blame them.
It is obvious why many white tigers of the Mohan line carry the genes for not only white coats and blue eyes, but also crossed eyes, hip and back problems, shunts and malformities.
Most of the white tigers in the United States today are from this bloodline. From National Zoo they went to other zoos, major attractions and exhibitions.
It is not generally acknowledged, but we think there is more than one bloodline of white tigers in the United States, not to talk of Africa the base, We know that tigers have different shapes, sizes, colors and shades of color - just like people. And it is controlled by gene groups, just like people. If your mother had big thighs, you probably do, too. (Sorry)
The Mohan line of white tigers in this country is identifiable in the same way by the characteristics dictated by their gene groups. They are shorter in length. They have shorter faces. Their back slopes more sharply from their hip joints to the base of their tail. They have fewer stripes on their shoulders. This is true even in the standard colored tigers from the Mohan line.
The other line of white tigers has different physical characteristics. They are longer in length, never any crossed eyes, no hip or back problems, no deformed cubs, their backs are straight, their faces are longer, and their stripes are darker.
In general, these tigers are typical of the Bengal tigers seen in the wild.
What is this bloodline? Who knows? It could even be the Rewa bloodline but not corrupted by the inbreeding as the Mohan and many other line are.
The only requirement for another white tiger bloodline would be two tigers who carried the white gene. It would be terribly presumptuous for us to think that mother and father were the only tigers who carried the white gene.
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