Milandra, The White Tiger

I am Milandra. I am a white tiger at the zoo. Life is good here. I get fed well. I have a pond to swim in and pretty green trees so I can lay down and take a nap.

A little blonde girl asked if I was a Princess. I growled my reply but it wasn't loud. She giggled.

One little boy with red hair pointed at me and said: "Mommy, did that tiger get into the bleach?"

The mother smiled and said: "No, she was born that way. She is pretty, though."

One day I was taking a nap and a little girl with black hair said: "Here kitty, kitty." LIKE I WAS GOING TO COME RUNNING!

One man said he didn't like tigers. I had some leaves in my mouth along with some dirt so I flung them at the man. People laughed and applauded.

One woman all dressed up in a fancy blue sun dress said I understood what the man said. She also mentioned that I was smiling which I was.

Raleigh is a beautiful white male tiger who lives in the cage next to me. He hasn't been here very long. He talks to me. I wish I could be in the same cage with him. We could take our naps together and spend more time together. I heard the zoo care givers say that they would let me be with him in a few days. We are the the only two white tigers in the zoo. I was born in another zoo and transferred here. I was still a baby. I am two years old now.

Clara is a young woman with blonde hair that feeds me. She is so sweet. I keep my distance but I nod my head to thank her for the food. Ben is the Vet who checks me over and is nice to me. I let him pat my belly and I roll over and purr. Maybe someday I will have that bond with Clara.

It is a hot day and I am in the pond. It is so cool.

One man said: Hey! Are there any fish in there?"

Like I would eat fish. There is one in every crowd.

Feeding time. Clara gives me a big steak from a huge fork that is several feet long. She smiles. "Hi, Milandra. You are so pretty." She smiles. I slowly crawl towards her and roll on my side like a house cat. Clara slowly reaches out her hand and I lick it. Clara giggles and she pats my head. Enough human contact. I go eat my steak that she left.

Today, they put me in Raleigh's cage. We smell noses and I play with a big beach ball and Raleigh rolls it back to me. A crowd of people. Show Time! Raleigh and I are putting on a show. We roll the ball to each other and pounce on it. We look like over sized house cats but we have a lot of fun. We do this for an hour. He licks my face and we take a nap side by side. People take pictures and say how cute we are. Yes, we are. I think we are the most beautiful animals in the zoo.

Raleigh and I were having so much fun. He growled a couple of times and I thought he was King of The Jungle. He can be my King. White tigers should be King instead of the Lion King.

I heard a little red headed girl say: "Mommy. Why are there only two white tigers?"

"Sweetie, white tigers aren't so popular as orange tigers and maybe like pandas, only certain zoos can have them. They are a treasure". The mother was holding a cute baby boy with blonde hair that smiled. I looked at the human baby. He was cute.

The little girl asked: "Where are the baby white tigers?"

I had just met Raleigh. I looked over at Raleigh and he winked. I blushed.

The mother answered. "They will have babies in due time. I am sure they will be cute."

I had no doubt about that. Here comes a man taking pictures. Raleigh nodded his head at me and said: "Let's pose for the camera."

Raleigh and I sat down together and rubbed noses and he washed my ear. The man got his pictures and the people said we looked so pretty and were photogenic. I purred.

Raleigh and I decided to jump in the pond. It was bigger then the pond in my cage. We shook water at the people. They laughed. A little boy asked why we weren't wearing baby suits. Humans! Raleigh and I looked at each other and laughed. No way would I wear a bathing suit. I would bite humans for trying.

The sun was going down and it started to rain. People were starting to leave and Raleigh and I went into the small building in his cage and took naps. He laid down beside me. I don't know how long we slept. Claire woke us up to eat. She was in the cage with us. Raleigh woke up and growled. I told him it was alright. Clare is a friend. I went to Clare and she petted me. I licked her hand and she giggled. She then said Hello to Raleigh. Raleigh nodded and asked me if Clare would be his friend. I told him she would if if he wanted her to. I stretched out and saw that the rain had quit. It was dark and Clare fed us our 50 pound steaks.

"Good news, Milandra. You have made Raleigh happy and the people here love you both. What do you think about that?" Clare was so happy for us. I love that human.

I rolled over and Clare pat my belly. Raleigh rubbed noses with me. Yes, life is good.

Later on, Milandra and Raleigh will have two baby white tiger cubs. I was impressed with white tigers when I was seven years. I saw my first white tiger at the Washington, DC Zoo. I fell in love with Princess, a full grown white tiger from India. She was beautiful. I dedicate this story to her. She left an impression. Thanks for reading.