Ligers and Tigons are usually sterile, but what do you think happens when you keep lions and tigers frolicking long enough in the same enclosure?
Lion papa + Tiger mama = Liger
Lion papa + Liger mama = Liliger
According to SkyNews, the Novosibirsk Zoo believes their big cats have produced the first Liliger. Guess the kings are frisky 😉
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First hybrid of this kind I have read of. There were a few ti-ligers and ti-tigons, but no 75% lion hybrids – maybe the keepers think tiger features are more interesting (anyway, I love both tigers and lions – plus other big cats such as snow leopards), even when some such breedings were accidental.
Plus – it’s not a rule that such hybrids are “usually” sterile. It’s more accurate to say that males are probably always sterile, but females are fertile. I wonder what is the case with 75% hybrids – I’ve read somewhere that at least in hybrids such as Savannah cats usually all individuals are fertile when the percentage of genes from one species exceeds 90%.
Btw, I have a plush lion-liger couple at home. But there will be no cubs because Liona (the lioness) and Nadya (the ligress) are both female… 😉 Yes, I’m childish, I’m an “adult child” and I still keep plush tigers and lions at home. With highlights such as Liona’s white baby sister and a very intelligent doll-like (upright) tiger who will soon be 30 years old. I destroyed this poor tiger quite a bit when I was small, for example I put a staple in his tail when playing with the first stapler I have seen…
Thanks for clarifying fertility…wonder why the females are fertile but not males? Now a snow-leapord in there would be awesome!
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