Hybrids of lions and tigers are called the uncomplicated word "ligers". Currently, these 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 all over its body. Let's talk about ligers in more detail.
God's creature
Liger is a hybrid of a lion and a tiger, eaten naturally or artificially. More precisely, it is the cub of a male lion and female tigress. From the point of view of zoology, 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 so often, because the habitats of tigers and lions vary widely. 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, the hybrids of lions and tigers are similar to the extinct cave lions that live on Earth since the Pleistocene era. But if you look at the ligre more closely, you can see the features of an American lion 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 absorb the traits of both mother and father. For example, their backs and sides are densely covered with legendary and characteristic tiger stripes. Some males become happy owners of, if not mane, then a slight scruff. All this makes the ligers truly unique and unusual animals!
What is the largest liger in the world?
As mentioned above, ligers are the largest cats in the world. The largest hybrid of a lion and a tiger is Hercules! In its size, this giant is noticeably superior to all its relatives. In 2006, he even got into the Guinness Book of Records. Born in 2002 at the Institute of Endangered and Rare Species of Animals, located in Miami (Florida, USA). He currently lives in the Jungle Island interactive amusement park.
Which liger was the very first in Russia?
The very first ligar in our country, which appeared in 2004, was a hybrid from Novosibirsk. This unusual cub was the result of mating an African lion and a Bengal tigress. The story of their love is impossibly simple: the little males and females were housed in the same enclosure due to lack of space in the mobile branch of the Novosibirsk Zoo. The lyric girl was called Zita-Gita.
