Hybrid Animals: Humans Playing God

Everyone knows that there is a very, very large variety of animals that are out there among us. But science has interfered with the wild, and as always it is us humans who come up with the idea to blend such animals as tiger with lions, wolves with dogs, whales and dolphins, and etc. These animals are called hybrids and although it is rare in the wild for species to inter-mate with one another, it is getting very popular with humans forcing the mixing with wild animals held in captivity. I personally don't like the idea of humans meddling with the instincts of animals, however, what are the facts? Is this a good thing or a bad thing for those interspecies animals?

Big cats have been the most popular to breed. Zoos once bred exotic looking hybrid big cats to attract the public, now they are being bred as pets. Normally the big cat species have different lifestyles and rarely meet, if they do meet there is more conflict than there is romance to mate. To create these hybrids, the cats are raised together to over come any natural hostility between the species. Sometimes the hybrids are created accidentally where the cats are housed together and the keeps didn't realize that the cats could or would even mate.

Inbreeding holds potential problems because the limited gene pool that is caused by continued inbreeding can cause deleterious genes. Mating of closely related individuals can produce uniform or predictable offspring. Hidden genes can show up and be eliminated. Individuals will breed pure genes and or double up on the good genes to eliminate unwanted traits. However, it can also double up on weaknesses as well. The loss of immune system response as well as reproductive failures and fewer offspring is a huge disadvantage.

Line Breeding or mating of less closely related animals produces a more uniform offspring; however it does not halt the genes, just slows it down. Mating unrelated animals within the same breed still creates pure cats, but brings new qualities or reintroduces lost qualities. The disadvantage is the loss of consistency of the offspring and may have to breed out unwanted genes. Now, mating unrelated animals of different breeds brings in a lot of new qualities and may improve immune systems and also the reproductive capacity and introduces new traits such as color and fur types and is considered impure.

The bad part about hybridization is that the new traits that are received are unpredictable and may not be desirable, it may take many years to eliminate the unwanted traits as well as many years to create a consistent offspring. Many times these hybrids have partial fertility and growth problems. The hybrid may not grow at all, stop growing prematurely, or never stop growing. Some of these big cats show emotional and behavioral conflicts due to their mixed ancestry.

The most common hybrid big cats are Liger and Tigon. The liger hybrid is more common than the Tigon because the mating process is easier. The liger has both stripes and spots. The stripes are inherited from its tiger parent and the spots from the lion parent. Ligers are usually orangish/golden in color. However, there have been white tigers bred with lions to produce a very light golden coat on the offspring. If the hybrid offspring is a male, it will have a leonine mane, but it will not be as large and defined as a normal lion's mane. The liger gets most of its strength and size from both of its parents; this makes the liger possibly the largest cat in the world! On their hind legs, ligers stand approximately 12 feet tall. At most, ligers may weigh up to 1,000 pounds.

Ligers make the sound of both a lion and a tiger, although their roar tends to sound more like a lion's roar. The Liger is the result of breeding a female Tiger to a male Lion. Tigons are very rare; only a few exist in the world, and even those are only held by private owners. This is because it is much more difficult to get the male tiger to mate with the female lion. Tigons look very similar to ligers. They have varying stripes and spots.

Tigons are also orangish in color. Male offspring may have a mane, but will be very modest. They are able to produce both lion and tiger sounds when they roar. One difference between tigons and ligers is their size. Tigons are not nearly as large as ligers. In fact, tigons are often times smaller than both of their parents. The lifespan of tigons, as well as other hybrid animals, is shorter than a normal species. The animals seem prone to cancers and other illnesses. The Tigon is the result of breeding a male Tiger to a female Lion.

Now of course Lions and Tigers are not the only land mammals that have been inter-mating, but also Zebras with horses, donkeys, and ponies. A zorse is the result of crossbreeding a horse and a zebra. A zonkey is the result of crossbreeding a donkey with a zebra. The Zony is the result of crossbreeding a pony to a zebra. These hybrids have been known to be created for riding purposes, however they have been seen to me more temperamental and harder to handle.

Not only land mammals have been altered, but those mammals water bound as well. The Wolphin is a rare hybrid formed from a bottlenose dolphin and a false killer whale. There are two currently in captivity in Hawaii. The first captive Wolphin (whale/dolphin) hybrid occurred in captivity in 1985 where a female bottlenose dolphin and a male false killer whale shared a pool. The wolphin's size, color and shape are intermediate between the parent species. Named Kekaimalu, she has 66 teeth which is intermediate between a bottlenose which has 88 teeth and false killer whale which has 44 teeth. The Wolphin proved fertile when she gave birth at a very young age.

The calf died after a few days. However, in 1991, Kekaimalu gave birth once again, to daughter Pohaikealoha in 1991. For 2 years she cared for the calf, but did not nurse it (it was hand-reared by trainers). Pohaikealoha died at age 9. On December 23, 2004, Kekaimalu had her third calf, daughter Kawili Kai, sired by a male bottlenose. This calf did nurse and was very playful. Only months after birth, it was the size of a 1-year-old bottlenose dolphin. Both remain in captivity, and are not part of the normal tour at Sea Life Park.

Hybrids are designated according to their parentage into either the category of a domestic animal or that of a wild animal. These distinctions become very important for prospective owners applying for licenses and meeting containment requirements. Some private breeders use hybrids as a way to satisfy the demand for big pet cats. The laws in some countries and much of the United States allow hybrid tigons to be sold over state lines or exported. Officers normally don't catch the mistake when this is not done within the regulations of the law. Many laws state that you much have two or more years experience with the chosen breed prior to applying as well as presenting a formal letter of reference provided by the owner, manager or licensee of the facility.

Whether or not there is a license to maintain or even keep one of these hybrids in your home or zoo is really unacceptable. It hybrids are going to be created let it be created without us humans interfering. Although these hybrids can be beautiful and amazing animals, there are extreme advantages and disadvantages as stated above. Instead of creating new forms of animals, why not help to protect and preserve the ones we have.

There are at least 7,000 tigers and lions held in captivity in the United States living in roadside menageries, circuses, and even small cages in people's backyards. Many of these animals that are found on roadside zoos are kept in unkept tiny cages and are tormented by tourists. Others end up on game ranches and for just a few thousand dollars you can gun them down as they leave their cage, have them skinned and mounted.

This type of treatment in inhumane and needs to be stopped. If you want a pet tiger or lion, adopt one from an organization that is caring and nurturing and trying to stop the extinction of these animals, such as Tiger Haven. Tiger Haven is an organization in Tennessee that assists in the rescue and care for mistreated and on the edge of extinction big cats. You can pick the big cat you want to help care for and send them money to assist that animal, in return they send you pictures, and adoption paper, and monthly reports on your loved new friend.

Tiger Haven is just one of many organizations around the world that help and care for mistreated and endangered species.

So instead of rushing the stages of evolution and instinct, let's help protect and preserve what beautiful wildlife we have now, so in the future, when nature takes hold, hybrids will be created correctly and when ready.