Facts About Hybrid Animals - Introducing the Liger

The largest of all big cats in the world, the liger is the uniquely beautiful result of crossing a male lion and female tiger. This produces a striking tawny-gold cat with faint stripes across the body, not unlike a tiger. While the liger's head is decidedly leonine in appearance, they do not possess the lion's royal signature mane, and they tend to have thicker, tufted ears. While the liger's tail usually seems more similar to the lion parent, their body style seems more reminiscent of the tiger's - thicker with the impression of loose skin beneath the muscled abdomen, yet much larger. Adult ligers have been known to reach nearly 1,000 pounds as adults and usually tower over their lion fathers by a foot or more. For many, they are considered to be the perfect blending of two equally beautiful big cats. To others, they are a horrific creation, not unlike Frankenstein's monster.

While both ligers and tigons are members of the genus Panthera, neither variety has been granted a scientific name, due to the fact that they are a man-made creation and not something that has occurred naturally, in the wild.

How Ligers Came to Be

The earliest accounts of ligers can be traced back to the early 18th century, when Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire first created a color plate of lion and tiger hybrids. More drawings emerged in 1825, when G.B. Whittaker also made an engraving of hybrid cubs. All of these felines were captive-bred.

While some speculate differently, it's commonly agreed upon that the liger and tigon, both, were completely man-made hybrids. This means that, even while remote parts of their natural habitats have been known to overlap, it's highly unlikely that the two different species of cat would ever naturally breed together. Not only do the two have vastly different habitats, there is also the natural desire to create strong and healthy offspring. Hybrid tigon cubs are generally born very weak and frail, rarely surviving long after birth and then being of a very delicate constitution. Ligers, on the other hand, lean more towards gigantisism and, as such, can be very difficult for the smaller female tiger to birth. By the simple process of natural selection, it would be highly unlikely for such a mating to occur.

Add man, however, and the rules are quickly changed.

Kept as curiosities, exotic pets and circus or carnival attractions, tigers and lions have long been bred, raised and exhibited for human entertainment. When bred in a captive environment, but not housed separately, it's not uncommon for lions and tigers to interbreed. While it was once a rare occurrence, more and more ligers have been brought into existence due to the Napoleon Dynamite movie, which brought attention to these unusual animals. Since then, some breeders have increased the numbers of ligers they are producing and even some zoos have turned to this practice - a practice which has sparked great debate and controversy.

To Liger Or Not to Liger: The Crossbreeding Debate

One side of the coin says that the liger is a rare and beautiful creature that should be protected and preserved for younger generations to enjoy; that the liger has been around for centuries and that it should be saved from extinction. The other side of the coin says that the liger is a hybrid that would not exist, were it not for man's interference.

Considered to be generally unhealthy (whether prone to gigantisism, neurological troubles, or simply not existing for long after birth), it is argued that ligers are only bred for the purpose of exploiting these animals and that the money and space, it costs to house and keep ligers, would be better served to expand the habitats of the original species and for conservational efforts designed to protect the endangered tigers and lions.

Additionally, while many hybrids are known to be physically unsound, it's also speculated that these hybrid cats also suffer from severe emotional problems, stemming from their behavioral differences (ie: the liger being strongly pride-oriented, like the lion side of the family, yet having a strong drive to remain solitary, like their tiger mothers). It's also thought that ligers may be up against a communications barrier, as well, as they may chuff like a tiger, but be unable to roar, or vice versa.

The Liger's Future

No one can say, for sure, what the future holds for the Liger. While fans of this hybrid rally together and attempt to raise public awareness, many more of them are living out thei lives and then quietly passing on, never to be replaced. One cannot help but wonder if this is a point where we should intervene and right the wrong that we created or if we just let Mother Nature, herself, take over the role and choose the fate of the beautiful and unusual liger. What are your thoughts on this matter?