Three adorable newborn white Bengal tiger cubs in the capital of Henan Province, central China, are attracting waves of tourists.
The triplets were born on June 22, 2024, to a white Bengal tiger. Although most Bengal tigers have orange fur, the three cubs' white color is due to a lack of a pigment called pheomelanin. Both parents must carry a kind of unusual gene to produce the white Bengal tigers. If they carry the double recessive allele in their genetic code, the chance of giving birth to a white Bengal tiger is one in 100,000.
"The triplets were born on June 22, this year. They are not yet completely weaned from artificial feeding and are living in an incubator. Currently, the cubs are in the conservation period, and we want to show tourists how we take care of the triplets,”said Xu Fu, manager at the Department of Management at Enjoyland Animal Kingdom in Zhengzhou City.
According to a breeder, the high temperatures in summer could affect the baby tigers' eating and resting habits. So keeping them in an incubator with the temperature set at 26 degrees Celsius is beneficial for their health. When the cubs were born, they could only drink milk, but now they can eat some meat as their teeth have grown.
"The triplets eat four times a day. Meat is their staple food during the day, with 80 grams of meat consumed daily, while they drink about 90 milliliters of milk at night,” said He Huili, an animal nursery worker at the Enjoyland Animal Kingdom.
Additionally, the feeder will take them outdoors for one to two hours every day to help them adapt to the outside environment.
Three newborn white Bengal tiger cubs attract tourists in Chinese zoo
Long-standing challenges in Mexico's automotive industry have been exacerbated with the implementation of the U.S. tariff on imported cars, which took effect Thursday, fueling uncertainty and job losses.
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on all imported automobiles.
Ciudad Juarez, one of Mexico's largest trade ports and a key manufacturing hub, is now facing even greater challenges as rising trade protectionism deepens existing pressures.
At a medal parts manufacturing factory that has been in operation for over 30 years, the workforce has drastically reduced from 60 workers to just 25 due to uncertainty about the future.
Even before the U.S. tariffs on imported cars took effect, mounting pressure had already begun to ripple through the industry, prompting many companies to suspend investment and procurement plans.
"Some 95 percent of the products exported from Chihuahua, where Ciudad Juarez is located, are industrial manufactured goods. We have held multiple meetings to discuss solutions. In fact, over the past year and a half, more than 55,000 factory workers here in the city have lost their jobs," said the owner of the factory.
The automotive industry is a key pillar of Mexico's economy, generating nearly 100 billion U.S. dollars in output. The auto parts assembly industry alone provides over 900,000 jobs for the country, while automotive assembly companies create 175,000 jobs.
According to statistics from the Mexican Association of Automotive Dealers (AMDA), over 40 percent of the components used by American auto manufacturers are imported from Mexico. Last year, Mexico produced four million cars, approximately three million of which were exported to the U.S.
Industry insiders indicate that due to the high degree of interdependence in the sector between the U.S. and Mexico, along with a shortage of skilled labor, the U.S. goal of bringing automotive manufacturing back to its shores through tariffs is unlikely to be realized in the short term.
Moreover, the established industrial chain in Mexico faces the risk of being disrupted, which will ultimately have repercussions on consumer spending and further exacerbate inflation in the long run.
"Young people from the U.S. are no longer willing to work in the manufacturing sector. I believe there will be no growth in the relocation of automotive parts and vehicles factories in the short term," said Guillermo Rosales Zarate, ADMA's executive president.
"Personally, I hope this avalanche of tariffs doesn't continue; otherwise, it will lead to more significant issues affecting the U.S. economy. If these tariffs remain in place long-term, it will be the American people who suffer the most," said Ricardo Ramos, a professor with the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez.
U.S. automotive tariffs deepen industry pressures, halt investments in Mexico
