The liger is a cross between a male lion and a female tiger. It is therefore a member of genus Panthera. It looks like a giant lion with diffused tiger stripes. Like tigers (and unlike lions), ligers like swimming.
A cross between a male tiger and a female lion is called a tigon.
Known ligers exist due to human influence, either by deliberate human intervention, or by humans putting lions and tigers in enclosed spaces together. In natural conditions tigers and lions generally do not inhabit the same territory - the two species coexist in the wild today only in the Gir forest of India although their respective ranges used to intersect in Persia, China and perhaps also Beringia. Even where they do coexist, there have been no confirmed reports of interbreeding, though there are long-standing claims that this has happened.
Ligers grow much larger than tigers or lions and it is believed this is because female lions and male tigers transmit a growth-inhibiting gene to their descendants. Being the offspring of a male lion and female tiger, the liger does not have this growth-inhibiting gene and typically grows larger than either animal.
The liger featured in the photograph is called Hobbs and lives at Sierra Safari Zoo . He is the offspring of an African lion and a Bengal tigress. The staff say, "He roars like a lion and swims like a tiger. He's definitely all cat. He likes to play, and for all his incredible bulk he moves just as silently as any other cat". He is estimated to weigh about 450 kilograms (992 pounds), about twice the average for male Siberian tigers, the largest non-extinct, naturally-occurring member of family Felidae.
Male ligers are sterile. Female ligers are often fertile and can be mated to a tiger resulting in ti-liger offspring or to a lion resulting in li-liger offspring.
There is a 4 year old liger on display at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Ligers in popular culture
- The title character in the movie Napoleon Dynamite declares ligers to be "pretty much" his favorite animals, and states that they are bred for their "skills in magic".
- A variety of mecha in the manga, anime and toy set Zoids are called the Liger.
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