Big cat hybrids
Big cat hybrids are hybrids (mixed breeds) between different species of big cats , primarily between representatives of the genus Panthera . Particularly well-known are hybrids between lions ( Panthera leo ) and tigers ( Panthera tigris ), whereby two forms are differentiated, depending on the pair of parents , with liger and töwe or tigon . Both names are compositions of the words English tiger and English lion for lion. Outside of the genus Panthera , puma breeds can also result from crossing .
overview
 lioness |
tigress |
Jaguar |
Leopardess
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
 lion
|
lion | Liger | Liguar | Liard |
|
tiger
|
Töwe (Tigon) | tiger | Tiguar | Tigard |
|
jaguar
|
Jaglion | Hunter | jaguar | Jagulep |
|
leopard
|
Leopon | Leotig | Lepjag | leopard |
Continued crossings of a tiger with tigers or lions are called Ti-Tigon or Li-Tigon . A cross between a tiger and a jaguar-leopard mix is called Ti-Lepjag or Ti-Jagulep , etc.
There are also the following crossbreeds among cats:
- Puma × Leopard = Pumapard
- Long-tailed cat (Margay) × ocelot = Marlot
- Bobcat × Lynx = Blynx (father: bobcat) or Lynxcat (father: lynx)
| lion
|
tiger
|
|
|---|---|---|
| lion
|
lion | Lion |
| tiger
|
Liger | tiger |
| Liger
|
Li-Liger | Ti-Liger |
| Lion
|
Li-Tow | Ti-lion |
Leo and tiger are similar in size.
The tiger separated from the other species of the genus Panthera (lion, leopard and jaguar) almost four million years ago . Genetic combinations with tigers are therefore difficult.
However, the common offspring is usually restricted in its reproduction. In contrast to many other hybrid varieties, female ligers are mostly fertile . Male ligers, on the other hand, are always sterile. Ligers therefore cannot reproduce with one another.
Crosses between female ligers and male lions and tigers are possible. Your offspring then correspond to three quarters of the type of the father.
The cross between the female Liger and the male lion is called Li-Liger and Tölig (English Tilon) and Panthera leo × (leo × tigris) . Tölige can reproduce among themselves. A Li-Liger named Kiara was born in Novosibirsk Zoo in September 2012 and is the first of its kind , according to the daily taz .
The cross between a female liger and a male tiger is called Ti-Liger and Panthera tigris × (leo × tigris) .
Liger
Ligers are the cross product of a male lion and a female tiger. They do not occur in the wild as their natural habitats no longer overlap, but are born in zoos and circuses . Outwardly, they have the stature of a lion with light-colored stripes of a tiger, sometimes broken up into spots, but they often show a distinct fat deposit, which is why they often appear somewhat short-legged. Male ligers also occasionally develop a light mane. They sometimes become larger than their parents, as growth-inhibiting genes are only passed on from the sexes that are not involved in the process. The males also have a certain castration effect due to their sterility , and they put on a lot of weight. The liger is the largest hybrid in the cat family. It becomes 3 m to 3.50 m long and can weigh more than 350 kilograms.
Male ligers are sterile, but the females can successfully reproduce with male lions as well as tigers, whereby these offspring are no longer pure ligers, but intermediate forms between a liger and the species of the father. A liger has been observed in the Novosibirsk Zoo (Russia) since 2005 . In Zoo Grömitz (Germany), there were three Liger. The last one had to be put to sleep in February 2008 because of old age.
Lion
The form of cross between a male tiger and a female lion is known as a töwe or tigon. In contrast to ligers, gulls are significantly smaller than their parents and the fetal death rate is quite high.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ BBC report on the evolutionary development of the genus Panthera
- ↑ Explanations of the breeding and reproduction of ligers on Lairweb.org.nz
- ↑ The little word lore: LILIGER ; taz, the daily newspaper, issue September 20, 2012