ligreIllustrates: Alexandre Jubran
It is the Hercules liger, 3.3 m long and 418.2 kg, which lives in a tiger sanctuary in South Carolina, USA. A liger is a hybrid, the result of a cross between a lion and a tigress. In general, this type of animal is only born in captivity, where human intervention creates favorable conditions. There is no evidence that ligers exist in nature, because, although the crossing between lion and tigress can happen, the immense size of the fetuses causes great suffering to the female, who usually needs a surgical incision to give birth. Not infrequently, she dies during or after childbirth. Many puppies are born with serious congenital disorders and do not survive for more than a week after birth. The legislation of several countries, including Brazil, prohibits the creation of ligers because it understands that their breeding has no environmental value and can be harmful to nature and the tigresses. It is worth mentioning that the liger is not considered a new species: its scientific name is Panthera leo x Panthera tigris, a combination of the two animals that give rise to it. As far as species goes, the tiger is the largest cat in the world.
THE MIGHTY CAT
There are between 70 and 100 ligers in the world today; learn more about them
AWAKE GIANT
The main feature of the liger is its gigantic size, as it lacks growth-limiting hormones. The animal develops up to 6 years of age and reaches 3.6 m in length. That’s twice as much as a lion or a tiger
FROM LIGHT TO DARKNESS
Ligers are born blind and are very dependent on their mother for the first six months. The gestation period of the tigress (100 days) is quite painful and risky.
LOOKS LIKE HIS FATHER…
From lions, ligers inherit the shape of the muzzle and tail, the body hair and the mane – although the latter is smaller and not present in all males.
…BUT HAS A MOTHER’S BODY
With tigers, the most notable similarities are in the shape of the trunk and limbs. The spots and stripes on the body also follow the tiger pattern.
FELINE FRAGILE
Ligers have delicate health, mainly due to kidney problems and bone development, due to their immense size. Life expectancy is between 18 and 22 years
TO SMELL YOU BETTER
Another notable aspect of the liger is the size of its snout – which is about the width of an adult male’s shoulder. Ligers have as many as 30 teeth in the hollow. The canines can exceed 6 cm in length
IT’S A CUTE
In contrast to their size, ligers have a docile temperament and fairly calm behavior. Just like tigers, they are very fond of swimming and playing in the water.
Curiosity: Due to their size and biting power, it is believed that, if they existed in the wild, ligers would be at the top of the food chain.
Curiosity:In captivity, the liger is prevented from overeating so as not to become obese or less active.
GETTY HYBRIDS
Male ligers have an odd number of chromosomes. Therefore, they do not produce gametes and are sterile – only the females are fertile and can be crossed to form new hybrids. See other crosses of tigers, lions etc.Female Tiger + Male Lion = Liger
Female Lion + Male Tiger = Tiger
Female Liger + Male Lion = Liliger
Female liger + Male tiger = Tiligre
liger comparison
QUESTION Daniel Silva, Petrópolis, RJ
SOURCES Guinness World Records, Huffington Post, LigerWorld.com, BigCatRescue.com, A-zanimals.com and UOL
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