The liger Hercules is the largest cat in the world. What are the names of hybrids of lions and tigers? Cat liger

Ligers are extremely rare, but interesting view Living creatures. This name was given to the hybrid of a lion and a tigress. Ligers and tigers, by the way, are not one species, but opposite crosses. There are several hundred individuals in the world. All of them live in captivity, because in natural environment these species almost do not overlap (with the exception of a small patch of jungle in western India). The first mention of this species refers to end of the XVIII century, but the term “liger” itself was coined at the beginning of the 20th century. Externally, ligers look like lions with blurred stripes. The most interesting facts about the largest cats in the world - in case you want to have such a cutie at home.

• 1 History of the origin of ligers
• 2 Main characteristics of ligers
• 3 Appearance and personal qualities
• 4 Ligers in wild conditions
• 5 Tigers

• 6 Liligers and other hybrid hybrids
• 7 Mental health problems
• 8 White ligers
• 9 Rocky the Liger
• 10 Liger controversy

History of the origin of ligers

First image of ligers

In the last decade, ligers, as they say, are “in trend”: TV shows are being made about them, rich people dream of getting a copy for their home collection. A ton of rumors and conflicting information have haunted ligers for several centuries, but their true origin is still shrouded in darkness. The first mention of a hybrid of a lion and a tigress was found in scientific works French biologist Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. In 1798, the scientist depicted ligers in his work on the flora of India. This means that by that time the British authorities were breeding native animals for zoos throughout the British Empire. Around this time, others in the scientific community began to actively discuss selection and crossbreeding within the cat family. In 1837, two ligre cubs were presented to King William IV and Queen Victoria.

Later, in 1897, three more liger cubs were born in captivity in Hamburg (Germany). However, the hybrids have not yet received an established name and they have not been identified as a new subspecies. Ligers received their name only in 1902. That's what biologist A.H. Bryden called them. He first used the term in scientific articles in the magazines “Animal Life” and “World of Nature”. Ligers appeared at the Bloemfontein Zoo in 1935. Since then, they can be seen in many zoological exhibitions around the world, but most of these wonderful hybrids are in the United States of America.

Main characteristics of ligers

As already mentioned, the liger is the result of crossing a lion and a tigress. Now there are about 200 representatives of the subspecies in the world. Due to the small population, it is difficult to work out average characteristics, but some data can be given with confidence: weight - from 400 to a monstrous 680 kg (for comparison, medium tiger and the lion weighs no more than 200–300 kg). The liger can reach a length of almost 4 meters, making it the largest cat in the world. By the way, the width of the mouth of this hybrid is the same as the distance from one shoulder to the other in a man of normal build.

Because liger cubs are larger ordinary cubs tiger, a caesarean section is used for their birth (at two months, ligers weigh 7 kg, while tiger cubs weigh no more than 4 kg). As ligers mature, they gain half a kilogram per day. Previously, it was believed that these hybrids grow throughout their lives (for the same reasons as in giant people - due to disruption of the pituitary gland). However, recent studies have shown that ligers, like other members of the cat family, stop growing by the age of 6 years. But the descendant of lions and tigresses has another problem: ligers are prone to obesity, since their appetite is difficult to satisfy (this cat can eat up to 50 kg of meat at one time). To prevent the cat from suffering from excess weight, caretakers limit feeding to 10–15 kg of meat. It is also known that most of The ligers living today are the result of random matings of tigresses and lions living in the same enclosures. Another interesting fact: Ligers are the second largest predators in the world (after the southern elephant seal).

All bears (including the polar white) are omnivores, so they cannot compete with ligers in their bloodthirsty craving for meat.

Appearance and personal qualities

The liger Hercules and his trainer

Lions and tigers belong to the same family, but live in different environments and behave completely differently. Ligers have incorporated the features of both representatives: powerful and muscular body lion, distinguishable tiger stripes. Male ligers can also grow a mane, but it is not as full and impressive as that of lions. The roar of ligers also has characteristics of both species and can really be impressive.

Ligers are social creatures, so they feel better together with other members of the cat family (but can also become proud loners). Ligers are excellent swimmers and love water. Unlike their wild ancestors, ligers remain relatively calm throughout their lives. However, this does not mean that anyone can approach them without fear - they only recognize those people whom they have seen since birth. They may well perceive everyone else as a steak with legs.

Ligers in the wild

A couple of ligers in the zoo

There is not a single confirmed fact of the existence of liger in wildlife: All evidence is either fake or an inaccurate interpretation of evidence. However, in the past, when lions and tigers lived on much large areas and often their paths crossed, residents of India reported “giant brown cats" It may well be that these were wild ligers. Therefore, the existence of hybrids in the jungle cannot be completely ruled out.

Currently, there is debate among scientists about whether ligers can live in the wild. Some biologists passionately argue that the species is not adapted to conditions in the wild, while others argue: India, central part USA and South America are the ideal place for this huge cat to live. If we compare ligers with saber-toothed tigers or cave lions who lived during the last ice age, then we can say with confidence that hybrids will feel good in these habitats. A liger can easily track and catch up with prey, reaching a crazy speed of 100 km/h. Ligers can find their niche by eating both large game and smaller predators (that is, almost everything there is).

But not everything is so smooth: wild ligers will not be able to find enough food for their huge carcass. In addition, it is far from certain that the giant will not exhaust itself while pursuing its prey. According to other data, male ligers are sterile, so they will not be able to contribute to the continuation of the family. However, this still needs to be proven.

Tigers

Tiger lion in the zoo

It would be a little unfair not to mention tigrolves, cousins ​​of ligers. Lions and tigers are so close in DNA that they can easily interbreed and produce offspring. Ligers are the cub of a lion and a tigress, and a tigress is the result of crossing a tiger and a lioness. There are much fewer tigers, since very rarely does a lioness allow even a seasoned tiger to approach her. Also, tigrolves do not grow to such colossal sizes, so they are not so in demand among the public. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, zoologist Gerald Eales reported that he saw tigers in India much more often than ligers (this may well be a figment of the scientist’s imagination, but at the same time it may mean that tigers are a more viable subspecies).

In any case, tigers combine the characteristics of both parents. The main difference between the two hybrids is size: tigrols are no larger than the average lion. They also have tiger stripes and males can grow a mane. Weight is about 200 kg and height can reach up to three meters.

Liligers and other hybrid hybrids

Liligger family with tiger

Hybrid females cannot give birth to offspring from hybrid males, but they perfectly bear offspring from lions or tigers. Moreover, in each subsequent generation, hybrids will have fewer and fewer traits from another species, since the male’s chromosomes provide 75% of the genotype of the offspring. The difference is appearance may also vary depending on the species of tigers or lions. On this moment Not a single successful mating has been recorded between ligers or tigers.

Moreover, lions are much closer to jaguars and leopards than tigers: the common ancestor of the former separated from common family approximately 4.3 million years ago, while the ancestor of tigers and leopards became an independent species about 3.9 million years ago. At the same time, the lions began unique view only two million years ago, while tigers became isolated about 3 million years ago. This means that lions and leopards have more genes in common and their offspring are resilient. This hybrid is called "leopon". Crossbreeding between leopards and jaguars, as well as between lions and jaguars, is also possible.

Mental health problems

As already mentioned, male ligers are sterile. In addition, since hybrids of lions and tigers have the behavioral characteristics of both species, they have serious mental disorders. Ligers can also inherit the “vocabulary” of both parents, which leads to conflicts with their closest relatives. Ligres may experience stress because they will simultaneously want to be in society with their lioness sisters and want to hunt alone. Such conflicting desires can really drive an animal crazy.

Also if it is likely that the “pure-blood” mother will be embarrassed by the behavior of the half-breed cub and will not recognize him. Then the little predator is doomed to death (if his mother is not replaced by specialists from the zoo). In any case, playing with genes means that ligers need special care.

White ligers

Real luck - to see white lion or a tiger. Imagine what it's like to watch a white liger! There are currently 4 white leagues in the world and they all live in South Carolina. Their names are known throughout the world: Odin, Yeti, Samson and Apollo. Their parents are the lion Ivory and the white tigress Saraswati. There are rumors that South Korea They have their own white ligers, but the information is not confirmed by any fact.

There are about 300 white lions and 1,200 white tigers in the world. On the other hand, people would like to see absolutely black huge cats. And although black tigers exist, there is not a single black lion (all photos on the Internet are fake). Based on these data, it is extremely difficult to expect that humanity is waiting a large number of black ligers.

Rocky the liger

Although ligers are quite peaceful creatures, their instincts cannot be underestimated. In 2008, Peter Gets, a caretaker at a sanctuary in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, broke the rules and entered the cage of a liger named Rocky without an escort. Moreover, the predator was usually fed through a powerful grate. As a result, Rocky attacked a park employee. Despite bleeding heavily, Peter was able to escape the cage, but died from his injuries the next day in hospital. At the time of his death, Getsu was 32 years old and had already been working with animals for a year.

Rocky had lived in the park for 10 years before the incident. Lori Yensin, the owner of the reserve, said that Rocky had previously been a calm and very kind creature. However, the slightest wrong movement or sound from Gets could signal a threat to the liger. A dispute arose about euthanizing the hybrid. Nevertheless, Rocky lived until 2014 and died of natural causes. He became the only liger in the world to kill a man.

Liger controversy

As you might expect, there are many people who are concerned about the existence of huge feline hybrids whose behavior cannot be predicted. The main argument is the fact of breeding only in captivity. In addition, ligers are prone to diseases and mutations, as well as emotional problems and mental disorders.

Other people are outraged that two species are being forced to mate to produce hybrid offspring. On the island of Taiwan, such crossbreeding is prohibited by law. Big sizes Ligers (even embryos) are also a threat to the mother of the future hybrid.

The controversy continues, but in order for one side to win, it is necessary to increase the number of individuals. And this, as mentioned above, is extremely difficult.

This is not to say that interspecific crossing is something bad. However, “playing God” can lead to consequences for which a person is not prepared. Unfortunately, people very often do not think about this. Maybe we should start?

Hybrids of lions and tigers are simply called “ligers.” Currently, such cats are the largest in the world, as they easily reach a height of 3 meters. Outwardly, this animal looks like a giant lion with stripes blurred throughout its body. Let's talk about ligers in more detail.

God's creature

A liger is a hybrid of a lion and a tiger, eaten naturally or artificially. More precisely, this is the cub of a male lion and a female tigress. From a zoological point of view, the ancestors of this animal belong to the same biological genus (superfamily), but to different species.

It is worth noting that these “nuggets” do not appear in nature very often, because the habitats of tigers and lions differ significantly. The former prefer to trample the lands of India, and the latter - the lands of Africa. Therefore, most ligers are born in zoos, where their parents are in close contact with each other.

Appearance

Externally, hybrids of lions and tigers are similar to the now extinct inhabitants of the Earth from the Pleistocene era. But if you look at the liger more closely, you can see features in it. It is worth noting that the males of these hybrids almost always lack a mane. Unlike ordinary lions, ligers can and even love to swim.

These creatures incorporate traits from both their mother and father. For example, their backs and sides are thickly covered with the iconic and distinctive tiger stripes. Some males become the happy owners of, if not a mane, then a small scruff. All this makes ligers truly unique and unusual animals!

What is the largest liger in the world?

As mentioned above, ligers are a hybrid of a lion and a tiger - Hercules! In size, this giant noticeably surpasses all of its relatives. In 2006, he even got into the Guinness Book of Records. Born in 2002 at the Institute for Endangered and rare species animals located in the United States). Currently lives in the interactive amusement park Jungle Island.

Which liger was the very first in Russia?

The very first liger in our country, born in 2004, was a hybrid from Novosibirsk. This unusual cub was the result of mating with a Bengal tigress. Their love story is incredibly simple: a small male and female were placed in one enclosure due to a lack of space in the mobile branch of the Novosibirsk Zoo. The ligress was named Zita-Gita.

From the point of view of society...

Hybrids of lions and tigers cause ambiguous and sometimes negative reactions from the modern public and animal activists. According to scientists from the American company Animal Media, liger cubs are not full-fledged wild cats, but genetically crippled animals. Scientists claim that they are directly susceptible to certain cancer diseases, as well as arthritis and neurological disorders.

Moreover, it is believed that all hybrids of lions and tigers, without exception, are sterile creatures. And if they don’t give birth to offspring, then what’s the point of mocking Mother Nature? Just for the sake of experimentation? Animal rights activists oppose such drastic interference with the natural forces of nature. However, sometimes female ligresses give birth, but the life expectancy of their cubs, of course, is short.

A liger is a hybrid of a lion and a tigress, and a tigon, or tiger lion, on the contrary, is a cross between a tiger and a lioness. Lions live in African savannah, and tigers - in the Indian jungles and on Far East. Under natural conditions, these animals never meet, but in zoos and circuses, kittens of different species are sometimes placed in the same cage due to lack of space. Kids grow up together, play, eat from the same bowl, and then they become adults and have children. One or two out of 100 mixed couples produce offspring, and they look more like their fathers.

I suggest you find out more about them...

Ligers are more common than tigons. Their fur is orange-golden with faint stripes on the sides and back and spots on the belly. These spots are from the father, because lion cubs are actually born spotted. Sometimes a male liger even grows a mane, but not as big as a lion's. In addition, they, like their tigress mothers, love and know how to swim, and the roar, on the contrary, is more reminiscent of a lion. Ligers are the largest cats on Earth. Standing on their hind legs, they reach 4 meters in height and weigh more than 300 kilograms. The largest liger named Hercules, weighing as much as two lions, lives in the Jungle Island Park in Miami. Unlike females, male ligers are usually sterile, so they cannot be bred.

Tigons are very rare, with only a few living specimens known. This is explained by the fact that tigers do not interbreed well with lionesses; they apparently do not perceive mating behavior lionesses as a call to mating. In addition, tigons are often born prematurely and die. Despite their rarity, tigons are of less interest because they are not as impressive in size as ligers. They are even smaller than their parents. Externally, tigons are similar to ligers. They orange color, with stripes and spots, males have a mane, but a very small one. Tigons make both lion and tiger sounds when they roar. Male tigons, like ligers, do not bear offspring, but females are fertile and can interbreed with lions and tigers. It is known, for example, that two tigons now live in the Australian National Zoo; the Shenzhen Safari Park in Southern China also owns tigons and three more ligers.

In the Jungle Island animal park in Miami, there lives one of the largest cats in the world - a liger named Hercules. Kotyara, whose weight is more than 400 kilograms, is officially listed in the Guinness Book of Records, and his closest competitors are far from him!

Interestingly, Hercules was included in the Guinness Book of Records already in 2006. When representatives of the Guinness Book of Records measured and weighed the liger, it turned out that Hercules weighs 410 kilograms. The length of the cat was 3.6 meters, and the height at the withers was 186 cm. If Hercules stood on his hind legs, then his height would be as much as 3.7 meters! Wow kitten!

Despite his impressive size, Hercules remains very mobile and dexterous. Thus, a liger is capable of reaching speeds of up to 90 km/h!

The length of a liger can reach three to four meters or more, and its weight exceeds three hundred kilograms (this is a third more than large lions). The largest living liger Hercules has a weight of 400 kg, which is twice as heavy as the average lion.

In 1973, the Guinness Book of Records recorded a liger weighing 798 kg living in the Bloemfontein Zoological Gardens in South Africa.

Superbeast.

The eccentricity of ligers is of justifiable interest: the most famous liger in the world, Hercules, performs every day at the Jungle Island amusement park in Miami and receives applause every day. Hercules weighs 410 kilograms - that's one hundred domestic cats, or two large lions, or five to six people (the carrying capacity of a standard elevator). Standing on his hind legs, Hercules stretches out into an almost four-meter giant.

Zita is still young, she is seven years old, but she is already a little larger than the mature lion living in the neighboring enclosure. Gigantism in ligers is a normal consequence of heterosis (hybrid vigor). Heterosis is a powerful development of first-generation hybrids obtained by crossing different pure species or different varieties of the same species. Cubs from such crossings turn out to be larger, stronger, tougher or smarter than their parents. “Although heterosis has been taught in school for fifty years now and everyone knows the examples of the persistent mule or the brilliant cross-breed of Pushkin, geneticists have not yet come close to the secret of the power of hybrids,” says Galina Sulimova, head of the Laboratory of Comparative Animal Genetics at the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. - For example, imagine a union: the wife is a purebred Nigerian, and the husband is Irish. With a 90 percent probability, the children from this marriage will be very talented, smart, energetic, with a well-developed memory and imagination.

And this applies to all interethnic marriages, although here we cannot actually talk about hybrids: after all, a person is one species. If love breaks out between a lion and a tigress, different types, their cubs are born not only stronger and healthier, but also larger than their parents. It is clear that genes that were suppressed in pure species are activated in hybrids, but why this happens, what the molecular mechanism is, we do not yet know, we have only developed a couple of non-controversial theories for testing.”

The only thing nature has deprived powerful hybrids of is the ability to produce their own kind. Male ligers are sterile. Females can give birth to cubs from lions - li-ligers. No cases of cubs being born from tigers - tai ligers - have been recorded: tigers are too small to mate with ligres. Female ligers can give birth primarily because the effect of their hybrid vigor is not as shocking as that of males. Zita is bigger than himself big lion, but it will never be as huge as Hercules.

Ligers: pros and cons.

The hybrid nature of ligers has sparked backlash from animal rights activists. Dr. Bhagawal Antle, owner of Hercules and other ligers raised at the Rare and Endangered Species Institute in South Carolina, is often accused of "cruelly exploiting sick animals for self-promotion."

The Animal Media company has released a number of short films in which it is categorically stated: ligers are sick, crippled animals suffering from cancer, arthritis, depression, neurological disorders, ligers die early, and tigresses cannot give birth to ligers without caesarean section and do not survive during childbirth due to the gigantic size of the cubs. Liger diseases are caused, according to films, by hybridization. “Ligers are bred simply because the crowd always wants spectacle,” says one of the videos. “A person is ready to pay well just to see something new that goes beyond the confines of drab everyday life.”

In the zoo of Novosibirsk, Russia, unique animals were born - liligers - a hybrid of a liger (a hybrid of a lion and a tigress) and a lion.

The zoo in Novosibirsk is home to a unique animal - the liliger. This is a breed of big cat whose father is a lion and whose mother is a cross between a lion and a tiger - a liger.

The first liligger was born at the zoo last year, and just recently three liliggers, all girls, appeared from the second litter.

The liligers were born in May of this year and have already grown quite a bit. They are already posing for zoo visitors, showing off their cute and clumsy moves.

Their mother, Zita, was born at the zoo in 2004. Their father is the African lion Samson.

Such an aggressive reaction is generally understandable. At first, hybrids of large cats were born by chance, like Zita, in cramped menageries and circuses. But when the trainers noticed the enormous interest in unusual creatures, ligers actually began to be bred on purpose. In European circuses, hybrid cats were called money makers - “animals that make money.”

“Yes, ligers were bred artificially, and today shows with ligers are practiced. But in Animal Media films, gross mistakes are made and facts are stated that contradict the real laws of biology, says Roza Solovyova. - Hybrids from different pure lines are always healthy and strong; people have been using heterosis for hundreds of years in agriculture to obtain more productive plant varieties and animal breeds. I have never seen a healthier and more cheerful cat than Zita.” “Little cubs are born small, weighing half a kilogram and fit in the palm of your hand,” Dr. Antle writes in his blog. - The mass of the cub is less than a percent of the mass of the tigress, who easily gives birth to liger cubs without any caesarean section. For comparison: the baby's weight reaches five to ten percent of the mother's weight, and healthy women give new life world without surgery."

Zoo star Zita- a kind and cheerful cat. She looks at strangers with surprise and interest, and greets those she sees often with almost a smile. Zita eats 8 kilograms of meat a day, so she looks super plump.

Zita's habits are mixed: she loves communication and attention, like lions, but growls and marks territory like tigresses - female tigers are not noticeable in the forests, to attract males they need a strong smell and a loud voice, unlike lionesses, who are already clearly visible in African savannas.

A rare liger that does not exist in the wild has become a heraldic animal: the Zaeltsovsky district of Novosibirsk chose it in honor of Zita. Novosibirsk schoolchildren write essays about Zita, and one of the city’s Palaces of Children’s Creativity is named “Liger”.

Tigreon or liger It is a hybrid mix of a lion and a tigress. He looks like giant lion with blurry stripes along the body. Male ligers have a mane that grows later and is much shorter than that of a lion. They can roar like lions and puff like tigers. Females demonstrate conflicting needs: sometimes they behave like lionesses and organize prides, sometimes they prefer to live like tigresses, that is, alone.

Even in his book “Changes in Animals and Plants during Domestication,” Charles Darwin wrote that many species of cats bred in zoos, although they were brought from different climatic zones lands and previously lived in some isolation. At the same time, Mr. Barlet (“Proc. Zoolog. Soc.”, 1861 page 140) noted that lions reproduce more often and give more offspring than other cat species. He adds that tigers are rarely bred, but there are well-confirmed examples of crossing a tiger with a lion in captivity. Moreover, in captivity, many animals unite with various types and produce hybrids as freely as with individuals of their own species. Voluntary hybridization of some zoo animals is called hypersexuality.

The first ligers were described by Mr. Cuvier, who wrote about a litter of three lion tigers born in England in 1824 from African lion and an Asian tigress, owned by the traveler and dealer Mr. Atkins. The born kittens were even shown to the royal family in Windsor. Cuvier presented two 3-month-old cubs, noting that they were likely to reach maturity. He described their color as dirty yellow, implying the color of a camel, with stripes and spots darker than those of a tiger located on the head and on some parts of the body.

At first, the first hybrids belonged to Mr. Thomas Atkins, then they passed to his son and in the period from 1824 to 1833 6 litters were produced. The female was a tigress from the collection of the Marquis of Hastings of Calcutta, which was purchased from the captain of the ship. The lion was bred in a menagerie. The tigress and the lion were the same age when they were placed in the same cage. The first litter appeared on October 24, 1824, of two males and a female. All died within a year of birth. The second litter was born on April 22, 1825, of three kittens, which died soon after. The third litter was born on December 31, 1826 or 1827. Subsequently, the skin of one liger from this litter was in art museum in Edinburgh. The fourth litter appeared on October 2, 1828 in Windsor, consisting of one male and two females. The fifth litter was in May 1831 at Kessington of three cubs (sex was not described). The sixth litter was born on the 19th July 1833 at the Liverpool Zoological Gardens. There was one male and two females in the litter. The male lived for 10 years and from three years From childhood on, his mane began to grow, and the stripes along his body became fuzzy and lighter with age.

In 1935, 4 ligers from two litters were bred at the Bloemfontein Zoological Gardens in South Africa. Three of them, a male and two females, were still living in 1953. The male weighed 750 pounds and was a foot and a half taller than the lion. Despite the fact that hybrids do not live long, there is documented evidence that the Shasta liger from the Holge Zoo in Salt Lake City set a record for longevity: he was born on May 14, 1948 and died in 1972 at the age of 24 years.

They usually grow up to 4 meters and weigh more than 500 kg, becoming larger than their parents. They often have the shape of a head from a lion, and a body from a mother tigress. This happens because from the tigress they receive genes that inhibit the growth of their offspring, and from the lion father they receive genes that accelerate growth, and therefore they grow throughout their lives. However, the tail and legs do not grow and remain short in relation to the body, so it may turn out that male ligers will not be able to walk because they cannot support their weight. The opposite happens with the tigron. It is a cross between a lioness and a tiger, which looks somewhat lanky, less bulky, with strong legs and a long tail.

In 1984, 2 ligers were mated and produced offspring, disproving the theory that male ligers are sterile (The Gazette, Quebec, Montreal 1988, May 14)

Ligers are the largest cats, the giants of the cat tribe. Males have a softer character due to a lack of testosterone (male hybrids are usually infertile). Because of passion giant cats ligers are more popular than the tiger-lioness cross. Although ligers have an easy-going nature, their size and strength make them dangerous, especially when defending or when agitated. In October 2008, a zoo worker was fatally mauled and bitten. He went into the cage to feed the 1,000 pound liger Rocky, which violated the rules of the zoo. The worker was bitten in the back and neck and died in hospital the next day.

Hybrids of tigers, lions, leopards and jaguars are usually called “double” words, the first syllable of which is inherited from the father, and the second indicates the species of the mother.

As a rule, representatives of these species do not mate with each other, since their habitats almost do not overlap. Hybrids are born exclusively in zoos, inevitably becoming popular “exhibits”.

Such a fate, for example, awaits ligers, the largest cats on the planet. An adult liger is twice the weight of its father or mother and can reach four meters in length. The largest liger is considered to be the 400-kilogram Hercules, listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

Tigers and lions are separated by approximately seven million years of separate evolution, but these animals are capable of interbreeding. However, as a specialist from environmental organization Panthera Luke Hunter, with interspecific contacts, the chances of genetic disorders are high: the cubs will almost certainly be sterile.

Since ligers and their relatives are born irregularly, their congenital ailments have not yet been fully studied.

To be fair, some of the hybrids do well and even bear offspring. Thus, the ligress Zita from the Novosibirsk Zoo became pregnant by the lion Samson and gave birth to the world's first lily cub in 2012.