Ligers and Tigons

I saw something about a Liger on TV the other night. I wasn't familiar with the word, so I glanced up at the TV from my book. It seems that a Liger is the offspring of a male lion and a female tiger. So, I Googled it and found information on Wikipedia. You can also have a Tigon which is a male tiger and a female lion, but today it is not as common. A female liger is called a ligeress. I never knew such a thing existed! Apparently, documentation of a liger dates back to the 19th century!

liger

tigon

Ligers, both male and female, are almost always bigger than adult lions. One male ligor was said to weigh over 900 lbs which is about double of what a male lion would weigh! Male ligors and tigons are sterile but females, are fertile! So, a liger and tigon cannot reproduce. Tigons do not get as big and are usually about the size of their parents. Also, male tigons do not get a full mane but may have a little scruff.

Ligers have a tiger-like striping pattern on a light brown lion-colored background. They can also have some spots like baby lions have. But most of the markings depend on the markings of the parents. White tigers and white lions can produce very light or white ligers. White tigers and lions are a result of genetics and most often occur with inbreeding between parents and cubs.

white tiger

A female tigon that is mated with a male lion is called a li-tigon and is very large like a liger. There can also be a ti-tigon which results from a female tigon and a male tiger; it is like a light colored tigon. So, I guess li-liger and ti-liger too!

Then I went down to the bottom of the page on Wikipedia and found other hybrid animals. The cross between a female leopard and a male jaguar is called a jagupard, a jagulep, or a jagleop. The offspring of a female jaguar and a male leopard is called a leguar or a lepjag. Again only the female hybrids are fertile and when one mates with a male lion you get a lijagulep.

There is also the jaglion or jaguon which is the mating of a male jagaur and a female lion. A liguar is the offspring of a male lion and a female juguar and more common than jaglions/jaguons. I find it interesting that there are no successful matings of a male jaguar and a female tiger or a female tiger and male jaguar. A male leopard and a female lion make a leopon, which is very rare. A reverse leopon is sometimes called a liard or lipard and is a male lion and a female leopard.

A male leopard and a female tiger is called a dogla - I really don't understand this one! A tigard is the offspring of a male tiger and a female leopard - all know such mating have produced stillborns. A pumapard is a hybrid of male puma and female leopard or a female puma and a male leopard.

The you have other animal hybrids - a mule is from a male donkey and a female horse, and is usually infertile. A hinny is less common and the offspring of a female donkey and a male horse. There has also been cross breeding of zebras to get zorses or zonkeys. A wholphin is the result of the cross breading of a whale and a dolphin. A yak and a cow produce a yakow.

wholphin

I just think stuff like this is so neat - I guess it is the biology background in me. I did know about the mule being from a horse and a donkey - but the rest are just fascinating to me! I searched for some photos of some other of these animals but came up short! Enjoy - and maybe you too learned something new today! I guess I should have know breeding of different big cats was possible - just look at the growing number of labradoodles and borderjacks and cockapoos and don't forget the maltipoo! Our dog is really a cross breed too - but of unknown origin - so he is a mutt!