A pair of white tigers have been presented to the Sri Lankan Zoo by The Chinese government as a mark of friendship as part of the Chinese New Year. According to the Lunar calendar this years Chinese zodiac sign is The Year of the Tiger. Dehiwala, Sri Lanka. 02/03/2010.
The new tenants at the Dehiwela National Zoological Gardens – a pair of White Tigers from China’s Ziang Jiang Safari Park – will be on display from today, March 2 2010.
The Zoo’s Education Officer, Nihal de Silva Senerath, told that the two white tigers had been tamed and anybody could stroke them. "Though they are less than two years old, they are well grown and certainly would be a special addition to the zoo because, we never had white tigers before," he said
The two animals arrived in Sri Lanka on February 24 2010 under an Animal Exchange Programme. "We gave a male chimpanzee, a pair of Silver Leaf monkeys and two pairs of Toque Monkeys. Certainly it was a favourable deal our part," he said.
According to Nihal, Tigers are the biggest cats in the world. They live in steamy hot jungles as well as icy cold forest habitats. There are five different kinds or subspecies of tiger alive in the world today.
He said these tigers are called Siberian, South China, Indo-chinese, Bengal, and Sumatran. Their Latin name is Panthera tigris. Tigers are an endangered species. Only about 5,000 to 7,400 tigers are left in the wilds. Three tiger subspecies, the Bali, Javan, and Caspian tigers have become extinct in the past 70 years.
Unlike some big cats, adult tigers like to live alone -except for mother tigers with cubs. This is partly because in the forest, a single tiger can sneak up and surprise its prey better than a group can.
The size of a tiger’s territory depends on the amount of food available, and usually ranges from about 10 to 30 square miles.
