The liger is a big cat born from the breeding of a male lion and a female tiger. This combination produces an offspring with more lionistic features than if the reverse pairing had occurred. That would produce a more tigeristic creature known as a tigon.Ligers vary in appearance depending on how the genes interact and on which subspecies of lion and tiger are bred together. According to AP Gray in Mammalian Hybrids, the basic colour of lion/tiger hybrids is pale ochre to rust yellow-brown, more intensive than in the lion, but paler than in the tiger and with tiger striping. The mane of the males develops late and is shorter than that of a lion. In general, males grow sparse leonine manes and the facial ruff of a tiger. Males and females have spotted bellies and a striped back. They roar like lions and "chuff" like tigers. The females exhibit conflicting needs for lioness-like sisterhood and tigress-like solitude. Ligers have no scientific name, but Panthera leo X tigris has been posited.
White tigers have been crossed with lions to produce white ligers. Everland Zoo (Yongin Farm Zoo) in Seoul, Korea has produced white ligers, possibly from white tigers and leucistic lionesses. Big Cat Rescue's white tiger apparently co-habitates with a lion, as it was the intention of the original owner to breed white ligers. Golden tigers have been crossed with lions to produce golden ligers. In theory white tigers could be crossed with white lions to produce truly white ligers. White tigons or golden tigons are also possible, but because tigons do not attain the huge size of the liger there is far less interest in breeding them.
A black liger would be an impressive creature, but to breed one would require both a melanistic tiger and a melanistic lion because the gene for black must be inherited from both parents and to guarantee a black liger requires both parents to be black. Very few true melanistic tigers have ever been recorded. Most "black tigers" are due to pseudo-melanism i.e. the markings are so heavy that the tawny background colour is almost hidden. No reports of black lions have ever been substantiated.
In felines, "blue" means a slate-grey colour. Genetically, it is a form of melanism where the colour has been diluted from black to grey. To breed a blue liger would require a blue (i.e.grey) tiger and a black lion (or black tiger and blue lion. Or blue tiger and blue lion). Blue tigers have been recorded in China, but none have occurred in captivity. To date, no grey lions have been recorded.
Interesting facts.,....
| Kingdom: | Animalia | |
| Phylum: | Chordata | |
| Class: | Mammalia | |
| Order: | Carnivora | |
| Family: | Felidae | |
| Genus: | Panthera | |
| ||
| Scientific Name: | Liger | |
| Type: | Mammal | |
| Diet: | Carnivore | |
| Size: | 2.8-3.6m (9-12ft) | |
| Weight: | 400-600kg (882-1,322lbs) | |
| Top Speed: | 80km/h (50mph) | |
| Life Span: | 20-26 years | |
| Lifestyle: | Solitary | |
| Conservation Status: | Endangered | |
| ||
| Colour: | Tan, Black, Brown, Orange | |
| Skin Type: | Fur | |
| Favourite Food: | Deer | |
| Habitat: | Do not occur in the natural world | |
| Average Litter Size: | 0 | |
| Main Prey: | Deer, Birds, Cow | |
| Predators: | Human | |
| Special Features: | Enormous body size and sharp claws | |
No comments:
Post a Comment