CT Mayhem `07 - `08

The Liger

October 18, 2007 at 9:52 am | In Homelearning |

Something that I know nothing about, would be the Liger.

And yes, it is a real animal.

The Liger is a hybrid cross between a male lion and female tiger.  A Liger represents a lion with diffused stripes and less thick mane.  They are the largest cat breed in the world even thought the Siberian Tiger is the largest pure breed.  Like tigers but unlike lions, the liger is an excellent swimmer.  There is a similar hybrid called the Tigon that is the offspring of a female lion and male tiger.  It’s intresting how scienctists can now breed different species and create a whole new type of animal!

Documentation of the first liger was reported in the early 19th century of Europe.   In 1837, two liger cubs were born and exhibited in a zoo.  In 1935, four ligers were born.  Three of them, a male and two females, were still living in 1953. The male weighed 750 lb. and stood a foot and a half taller than a full grown male lion at the shoulder.  You would think these creatures would be recent, like 21st century–recent.  They’re new enough to be not be around as long as reptiles and such, but they have been around long enough.

Jungle Island in Miami is home to a liger named Hercules, the largest non-obese liger weighing in at over 900 pounds, over twice the size of a male lion.  The liger is the largest animal in the cat family  and Hercules was in the Book of World Records as the largest cat. Hercules is completely healthy and will live a long life.  The species this cat was, is said to be a complete accident.   I think it’s so cool how large these cats are.  Can you imagine a regualr house cat enlarged to be taller than your waist?

Ligers have a tiger-like striping pattern on a lion-like sandy background.  These markings may be black, dark brown or sandy. The background color may be tawny, sandy or golden. The actual pattern and color depends on which subspecies the parents were and on the way in which the genes interact in the offspring.

White tigers have been crossed with lions to produce “white” (actually pale golden) ligers. In theory white tigers could be crossed with white lions to produce white, very pale or even stripeless ligers. A black liger would require both a dark tiger and a dark lion as parents. Very few black tigers and lions have ever been recorded.  No reports of black lions have ever been substantiated. A hypothetical procedure to breed black ligers is explained here. The blue or Maltese Tiger is now unlikely to exist, making grey or blue ligers an impossibility. It is not impossible for a liger to be white, but it is very rare.  If there were blue or black tigers/lions, I can see them being beautiful.  They would probably be on the endangered species list very quickly. =[

In the 2004 film Napolean Dynamite, Napolean draws a picture of a liger.  He says the animal is bred for its magical skill.  Of course, that is false.  Even though it’s a good movie, the information isn’t accurate.

For more information on the Liger, please click here.  Explore the idea of a Tigon, too.