BIg Cat Hybrids

A liger male and female
Photo by Hkandy

Big cats, such as tigers, lions and cheetahs, are some of the most majestic creatures on Earth. Like their smaller domesticated counterparts, they are stealthy, cunning, efficient and beautiful. It is no wonder that humans are fascinated with these creatures and often wonder if the world will produce more variations of them. Chances are that what we have now is all we get and, as it is, we are destroying what we have. The closest we can come to seeing new big cat species now are hybrid big cats, which are often bred accidentally and would certainly never flourish in the wild and emerge as a new species. Here are a few of the more common big cat hybrids.

Ligers

Ligers are the most well known of the hybrid big cats. This is largely due to their sheer size, strength and relatively laid back attitude. People simply cannot resist a large and in charge wild animal that is docile enough to be handled by humans. However, people should not be fooled by their calm exterior–ligers are hunters. Not to mention, they are the largest living big cats and can easily kill a human.

It takes a male lion and a female tiger to parent a liger. The result is a cat that can grow to weigh more than 1,000 pounds and stand 12 ft. on its hind legs. That means they are up to double the size of their parents. In appearance, ligers look very much like a huge lion with light tiger stripes. As for personality and vocalization, ligers behave and communicate like both of their parent species.

Tigons

Tigons are the result of a female lion and a male tiger. They appear to be more difficult to breed than ligers. However, there is not a huge body of knowledge on the subject because tigons and ligers almost never breed in the wild, if at all. Furthermore, zoos frown on breeding hybrid big cats, so most tigons are the result of an accidental captive mating.

Like ligers, tigons can roar and chuff. They also display characteristics of both species, such as social interaction and swimming. However, they are much smaller than ligers. They are more the size of a smallish lion or tiger. Apart from size, tigons and ligers have the same features.

Both tigons and ligers (among other hybrids) have shorter life spans than their parent species. They also appear to have a tendency to develop diseases. This is part of the reason why breeding hybrid big cats is frowned upon and even illegal in some cases. It just seems cruel to the animals, though some very special creatures have arisen through hybrid mating. There is also the fact that many hybrid animals (especially males) are incapable of breeding. There is no future for such creatures.

(The reason hybrids of the same species with a different male/female parentage are given different names is that males and females of all species bring certain genetic traits to their offspring. Therefore, the opposing coupling often produces very different offspring.)

Leopons

Leopons are the offspring of male leopards and female lions. These are rare (even for big cat hybrids) because female lions are more likely to kill male leopards than mate with them. The size difference is also a problem. It is highly unlikely that lion leopard hybrids occur in the wild because of this discrepancy and propensity for violent encounters.

Now here is a very interesting-looking creature. When leopons do occur in captivity, they grow to be bigger than a leopard, but not quite as big as a lion. Their legs are shorter than that of their mother and they are spotted much like their father. Specimens that have been observed liked to climb and swim like leopards. Males have manes, but they are less magnificent than lion manes. They tend to be sterile as well.

(Offspring of female leopards and male lions are known as liards or lipards.)

Hybrid big cats are a rare treat to see, but one that should not occur with human intervention. Unfortunately, it cannot be helped sometimes. Big cats have been known to get aggravated when you take away their mate (wrong species or not) and it is important to keep captive animals happy. However, captive big cats that are not of the same species should be prevented from forming bonds. It just seems unethical knowingly to allow an animal to be produced that will likely die young, be sterile and develop some painful, debilitating disease. All that aside, it is hard to deny that these hybrids possess the same majesty and beauty of their parent species.

Other, less documented, big cat hybrids include:

Jagupard - Offspring of a male jaguar and a female leopard

Jaglion - Offspring of a male jaguar and a female lion

Tigard - Offspring of a male tiger and a female leopard

Pumapard - Offspring of a male puma and a female leopard

Sources

Leopon, retrieved 2/14/11, messybeast.com/genetics/hyb-leopxlion.htm

Tigons & Ti-Tigons, retrieved 2/14/11, lairweb.org.nz/tiger/tigonsz.html

Mott, Maryann, Ligers Make "Dynamite" Leap Into the Limelight, retrieved 2/14/11, new.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0604-050804_ligers.html