Ligers and Tigons, Hybrid Big Cats
The Cross-Breeding of Tigers and Lions Can Lead to Strange Results
Oct 1, 2009
They sure do exist. A liger is the offspring of a male lion and a female tiger, while a tigon is the offspring of a male tiger and a female lion. Although these big cats are not purebred species, they are still unique creatures with distinct character traits that set them apart from their parents.
The Liger is the World's Biggest Cat
Ligers are the circus freaks of the animal kingdom. Their massive size, usually bigger than that of either parent, is used to draw in crowds at money-hungry zoos and circuses across the world. With their human-inspired existence frowned upon by the scientific community, ligers have no scientific name, unlike their lion fathers (Panthera leo) or their tiger mothers (Panthera tigris).
Ligers display heterosis (a.k.a. hybrid vigor), a term used in selective breeding to define the appearance and growth of stronger character traits in hybrid offspring. In the liger, it results in gigantism. Ligers may stand 12 feet tall on their hind legs and weigh 1000 lbs, according to National Geographic News. They can be twice as big as the average Siberian tiger.
However, with the good comes the bad, and ligers often face health risks or birth defects. They have the lion's tan fur but have shorter manes and muted stripes. They are generally gentle creatures, even if they can devour 50 lbs. of raw meat each meal.
According to Maryann Mott's article, "Ligers Make a 'Dynamite' Leap Into the Limelight," these animals pick up abilities from both parents. They can "roar like lions and chuff like tigers—a supposedly affectionate sound that falls somewhere between a purr and a raspberry." Also, they like to swim like their mothers but are sociable like their fathers.
The Tigon is the More Fragile Hybrid
Tigons (a.k.a. tions or tigrons or tiglons) are much rarer than ligers and more difficult to breed (or less profitable). However, in late 2000, the National Zoo in Canberra, Australia, acquired two tigons resulting from an accidental mating at a circus.
Tigons are opposite to ligers in some respects. Think Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito in the movie, Twins. Okay, maybe their differences aren't quite so drastic. But whereas ligers demonstrate powerful physical strength and size, tigons are usually smaller than or similar in size to their mothers. Males, though rare, can grow as big as a tigress, and can weigh 300 lbs. They resemble ligers in appearance, orange-brownish in color with muted spots and stripes.
Like ligers, tigons pick up behavioral attributes from both parents. They, too, can roar and chuff, like to swim, and are more sociable than tigers.
The Problem with Hybridization: Why Mating Lions and Tigers is a Bad Thing
Ligers and tigons represent inter-species mating. Unlike a cross between a Siberian tiger and a Bengal tigress, the genetic differences between lions and tigers are diverse. So what's the difference? After all, they're both cats, right?
Wrong. In addition to low fertility (and possible sterility in males), birth defects, and shorter lifespans, ligers and tigons offer nothing toward preserving their parents' species. Lions are vulnerable to extinction, while tigers are critically endangered, with some sub-species, like the South China tiger, functionally extinct. According to Geocites.com, the smaller womb of the lioness that is bred with a tiger cannot always sustain the growing cub, leading to stillborn or premature birth, health issues, or the need for surgery. Infants and adults alike are prone to illness and cancer.
These animals likely do not mate in the wild, given that tigers live in Asia and lions primarily live in Africa. A lion population does inhabit India's Gir Forest but not where tigers roam. As noted by one zoo official in Mott's article, "[a]ccredited zoos frown on the practice of mixing two different species and have never bred ligers." Per Mott's article, "'[c]rossing the species line' does not generally occur in the wild, because 'it would result in diminished fitness of the offspring.'" (quoting Ronald Tilson, Minnesota Zoo's Director of Conservation)
Born in captivity, ligers and tigons are not to blame for their existence. They are magnificent creatures in their own right, and existing animals should be treasured. But from a conservationist standpoint, their breeding limits breeding and resources necessary to preserve dying tiger sub-species. And since breeding them with each other or with tigers and lions often doesn't work (and creates even weirder animal names like the ti-tigon and the ti-liger), concentration, effort, and resources should be spent on saving existing species before creating new ones.
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