by Dr. Jones August 12, 2003
A liger is the result of breeding a male lion with a female tiger. It has stripes and spots. The spots are inherited from the lion parent even though adult lions do not appear to be spotted. The liger is a hybrid cat that inherits most of the strengths of both parent species and is larger than either, weighing between 800-1200 pounds.
Most ligers seem to be born sterile (this is not unusual for hybrids) - there are recorded instances of ligers breeding, though few and far between.
Ligers, and their cousins Tigons (sometimes also referred to as "Tions" or "Tiglons") do not currently have a scientific name, but might be called "Panthera leo/tigris", or something similar.
Most ligers seem to be born sterile (this is not unusual for hybrids) - there are recorded instances of ligers breeding, though few and far between.
Ligers, and their cousins Tigons (sometimes also referred to as "Tions" or "Tiglons") do not currently have a scientific name, but might be called "Panthera leo/tigris", or something similar.
by Dr. Jones June 02, 2005