A rare Bengal white tiger has been born in a Nicaguaruan zoo, the first-ever in the country since January 2021, according to the zoo. The newborn Bengal tiger cub has been named ‘Nieves’ (meaning snow in Spanish) and was born just last week in the National Zoo in Masaya, Nicaragua. Her birth weight was just under a Kilogram, as told by zoo director ‘Eduardo Sacasa.’ WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) has declared the tiger cub as a ‘genetic anomaly’ who has born from a pair of ‘yellow and black’ Bengal tigers, with the mother’s name ‘Dalia’. Dalia was rescued five years ago from a circus. Dalia was not able to produce milk to feed the new-born. News reports suggest that the cub was rejected by her mother.
Nicaragua Zoo new-born Cub inherits color from Grandfather
Therefore, Nieves is now taken care of by the Zoo Director’s wife, ‘Marina Arguello, who feeds the little cub formula milk 3 times a day. The new-born sips the milk through a bottle just like a human baby does. Marina rocks the new-born in her arms and caresses it happily. Marina said that the rare white–tiger cub has not lost her appetite.
Read Here: The family with NO fingerprints
It is reported that the rare white-colored skin of the cub is the result of a recessive gene from Nieves grandfather, i.e., Dalia’s father, who was a white Bengal Tiger. The Nicaragua Zoo also states that no white tigers exist in the wild habitats now. There are a dozen white tigers remaining in the world, which are in captivity and are often used for breeding processes. In order to obtain the white coloring, animals are interbred, but this has led to various new-borns having genetic defects, eye problems, and other deformities. Various Zoos and parks inbreed the white tigers, owing to their capability to draw visitors, however, it is done at the cost of the species malformation.
Nicaragua Zoo is delighted to have a white-tiger born for the first time on its premises. Last year, 2 white tiger cubs were also donated to the zoo from a zoo in Mexico, named ‘Osma’ and ‘Halime’. The Bengal tigers are much in demand in the Zoo owing to their majestic presence and powerful roars.
Bengal Tigers endangered species in the World
Bengal Tigers are native to the Indian subcontinent and are nocturnal hunters. Due to poaching and habitat destruction, they are an endangered species with about 3000 left in the world. An adult Bengal tiger may be as long as three meters and weigh more than 250 kg.
Nicaragua Zoo in the Central American nation ‘Nicaragua’ currently has about 700 animals, with most wild animals and some pets. Some exotic species have been transported from Asia, Australia, and Africa. The zoo is also involved in animal reproduction through mating and has previously mated King Vultures, Jaguars, and even Bengal Tigers.
