RELEASED Hivewire Big Cat Has Begun!

[Ken1171]

@Harimau Wow that was a lot of cool information! I read it all! ^_____^

These are some photos I took of the now-retired white tigers from Las Vegas. Like regular cats, they like to be at high places, which provide a better vantage point for stalking. Also like regular cats, they can fall asleep quite easily.

Those were taken in 2008. Not sure how long tigers live.

 

[Chris]

@Harimau Wow that was a lot of cool information! I read it all! ^_____^

These are some photos I took of the now-retired white tigers from Las Vegas. Like regular cats, they like to be at high places, which provide a better vantage point for stalking. Also like regular cats, they can fall asleep quite easily.

Those were taken in 2008. Not sure how long tigers live.

Sure is a good looking cat.

 

[Ken1171]

Sure is a good looking cat.

No wonder. This one was from "Siegfried and Roy", so it has been in show-biz for years. The only other one I have seen before was an orange coat Bengal tiger from a circus, but these white variants look much larger and heavier. Probably the largest tigers I have ever seen in person. Pretty impressive, besides being white.

 

[JOdel]

There used to be a white tiger in the L.A. Zoo. Along with an orange one. This was decades ago, so it's certainly gone by now.

For a looooong time, (i.e., starting around the WPA era, I think) deceased zoo animals were stuffed and displayed rather elaborate habitat cases in the Natural History museum, but I don't think they did the white tiger. They'd probably stopped doing it by then.

 

[Miss B]

No wonder. This one was from "Siegfried and Roy", so it has been in show-biz for years.

I used to love to see their show years ago when I visited Las Vegas.

 

[Ken1171]

I used to love to see their show years ago when I visited Las Vegas.

I've never seen the show, but at least I could see the white tigers afterwards. They were still in Las Vegas. That's when I took these pictures, and I remember it was terribly hot.

 

[Miss B]

Yes Las Vegas in the summer is hot for sure. I have family in Tucson, Arizona, which is as hot, if not hotter, than Las Vegas at times.

 

[Harimau]

@Harimau Wow that was a lot of cool information! I read it all! ^_____^

These are some photos I took of the now-retired white tigers from Las Vegas. Like regular cats, they like to be at high places, which provide a better vantage point for stalking. Also like regular cats, they can fall asleep quite easily.

Those were taken in 2008. Not sure how long tigers live.

Glad that you like it. Here is a chart on all the cats of the world showing their relative sizes. Perhaps Chris can select a few for future consideration, especially the Pallas Cat (Otocolobus manul) - a real life Garfield or the Rusty Spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus), the world’s smallest cat and a strong contender for the cutest wild creature you could ever encounter in the forest.

Cats of the World:

Garfield, the Pallas Cat (Otocolobus manul):

Bet you've never seen anything cuter than this - Rusty Spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus):

 

[Harimau]

Here is a you tube video of the Rusty Spotted Cat taken from the recent BBC series on cats. You can really see just cute he is:

And here is another video, this time on my other favourite, the Clouded Leopard, a real treetop acrobat:

 

[Ken1171]

Loved the rusty spotted cat - the smallest in the world. The clouded leopard footage on trees is also quite surprising.

 

[Rae134]

I love "Golden Tabby" coloured tigers

 

[Ken1171]

Look at all these different coats! Whoever will do the textures will have plenty of references here! Harimau's images are also good references for the sizes of different tiger species. ^___^

 

[Harimau]

I love "Golden Tabby" coloured tigers

This Chart is a very good condensation of the genetics of the coloration of the Bengal tiger involving two sets of recessive genes. It a rare occurrence to find a tiger with a single recessive white or stripeless/ghost striped gene in the wild and even more rare to find a tiger with both recessive genes. So a snow white tiger IS the rarest Bengal tiger coloration to find in the wild. The following chart from the same source shows the Mandelian inheritance of just the white gene. You can see why almost all the wild tigers are orange coloured.

My own favourite colour variation, however, is the Maltese blue which only occurs in the South Chinese subspecies of the tiger. This subspecies is close to extinction so the Maltese variant IS probably extinct and I certainly won't be able to see it ever. This is the only picture of the Maltese that I have come across:

For those of you who are interested in making textures for the big cats here is a Colour Chart showing all the colour morphs that is known to have existed. The species that has the colour morph is indicated.

 

[carmen indorato]

No wonder. This one was from "Siegfried and Roy", so it has been in show-biz for years. The only other one I have seen before was an orange coat Bengal tiger from a circus, but these white variants look much larger and heavier. Probably the largest tigers I have ever seen in person. Pretty impressive, besides being white.

Of all the times to stop "stuffing" and displaying for posterity, they did at the White Tiger which is unusual as it is but to not have preserved it was a crime.....beyond of course rendering a helping hand at its extinction.

And those countries where their tiger populations are now extinct shame!

 

[Ken1171]

beyond of course rendering a helping hand at its extinction.
And those countries where their tiger populations are now extinct shame!

I am not an expert, but I think white tigers are rare because of their recessive genes, not because the Bengal tiger in going extinct.

 

[carmen indorato]

Yes, I know. I tend to ramble and hating typing makes getting my thoughts out there easy and clear.
I was referring to the chart showing the extinct cats in two Asian countries and Caspian Tiger.
Sorry.

 

[JOdel]

I don't know for certain that the deceased zoo animals aren't still being stuffed and mounted. But most of the habitat displays at the museum have been there since I was a child at the latest. And may well have predated the WPA, although I haven't bothered to check online to be certain. The museum itself is Beaux Arte, so the display cases date from then.

Now, the constructions of the "artist interpretations" of the prehistoric animals at the Page museum are definitely WPA.

 

[Rae134]

This pretty cat came through from a post on facebook. Its an Asian Golden Cat. I thought its face markings were beautiful.
I think it almost looks like a cross between a domestic cat and a cougar (I know, not possible but if it was this is what I'd imagine it would look like ).

 

[Harimau]

Asian Golden Cats with spotted coats have been seen in China. A picture of an Asian Golden Cat with leopard-like coat:

 

[Harimau]

This pretty cat came through from a post on facebook. Its an Asian Golden Cat. I thought its face markings were beautiful.
I think it almost looks like a cross between a domestic cat and a cougar (I know, not possible but if it was this is what I'd imagine it would look like ).

It used to be called Catopuma temminnckii! Cat-Puma as you have noted. It it now referred to as Pardofelis temminckii.