lthough itself likely each can present something under hybrid and crossbreeds, is this one nevertheless quite interesting subject. With these animals it is about combinations from tiger, lions and leopards. I disregard all other big cats in case of this consideration.

The animals appearing with such crossings have got own names. So the hybrid between tiger and lion have two different names, according to which to which sort the father or the mother belonged. If the father is a tiger and the mother a lioness so one speaks from / of a tigon. Vice versa we speaks from / of a liger.

The single place in which such a mating in natural way to state could come is the already mentioned Gir Forrest national park. There, however, no tigers live. A tigon or liger is a "product" of humans. However, a crossing of tiger and leopard can be found in the nature, because these both big cats divide a habitat. The size difference may be therefore priority ("biggest") problem. However, such a mating is improbable extremely, but possible. To the naming I can only say that ybrids between lion and leopard are named leopons. A hybrid between tiger and leopard are generally named tigard. Because no case is known where a leopard the father is there is for such offspring no designation. However, pargon is in the conversation for any offspring.

Certainly, a case is known with a tiger leopards had fertilized, but living descendants were never born, because the leopards suffered a premature infant - this was in Hamburg-Hagenbeck. Other reports on such hybrid also exist, however, can not be classified as credibly. Tigon and liger were bred mainly in zoologic gardens and were held. Special mention approaches, in this connection, the zoos Hamburg-Stellingen and Munich-Hellabrunn. Generally you finds more liger than tigons in zoos.

The characteristic features the hybrid in itself combine are tendentious honour to the father more like than those of the mother. Certainly, I dare to doubt that one can do such statements on the basis of the relatively low experiences with such animals, accepts this knowledge, however, now as given. Near the usual stocks to be expected how the combination of the fur samples and some of the other characteristic features appear, however, still of far more interesting phenomena.

The most obvious one is the so-called heterosis-effect (with ligers). To some expert this notion from the botany may be trusted. Here, indeed, he means the same, namely crossbreed growth or gigantism. Their parents excel the hybrid first generation mostly enormously. With higher generations the crossing course must be considered very exactly around predictions to hit. For example, it can become difficult to hybrid between tiger and lion absolutely more than one half metric ton, this is sometimes more than both parents together on the balance bring. Tigons, however, incline honour to the dwarfism. Besides awake liger faster than their parents, while tigons grow slower.

A long time the infertility fundamental of all hybrid was also postulated. How Prof. P. Leyhausen proved not later than in 1950, it was real only a postulate. Certainly, a trend is unambiguously to the infertility with first of all male hybrid to recognize (on mistake with the spermiogenese to lead back), nevertheless, can not be spoken by a general infertility. All male mammal's crossbreeds have this problem. Cause and background for this frequent infertility are unanswered still as far as possible, but here the genetic engineering undoubtedly will be able to remove soon also some vagueness.

In spite of these circumstances we can conclude that tigers and lion are phylogenetic not so closely applied as we could think. How already the dominant characteristic features one of the parents assert themselves mentioned with certain characteristic features again. However, a multiplicity appears intermediately and, therefore, can not be categorized obviously as similar to lions or similar to tigers. Measurements in the skull are a classic example for this. Near the fact that one can breed to hybrid of the big cats still the question why one positions itself this should do. The professional world states mainly arguments like relationship clarification and descent research.

This knowledge is classified curiously higher in their priority than you at first sight could think. However, to all scientific brash pressure to against there also is far of "world" motives for such crossings. First of all in variety and curiosity shows were and are very popular these hybrid. The fewest guests of such show do to themselves seriously thought about an animal this looks like an extra large lion with tiger's patrols. The acceptance that these animals are objectionably found also in the free nature and therefore nothing in it is to be placed here to the show, moreover, seems to be very spread.

The scientific efforts with this affair are under circumstances on the edge of the acceptance, but the breeding for reasons of the pure trade is definitively not acceptably. In the age of the genetics not only zoologists are interested in a successful crossing. Just also geneticists are often fascinated by such experiments, because the researches are regulated in other higher developed living beings, like primates, by severe and "well" controlled set.

A very frequent justification for such doubtful experiments is smooth and simply the fact humans can it. The reason is near thinly also still of the silliest that can be given. Not everything what people can do is earned to be done. This problem brings to me, now and then, headaches because do to things very much is difficult for my own intentions faithful to remain. Although we should not exaggerate it with ethical intentions, there is to breed no reason such hybrid for not scientific purposes. By the way, mentioned there is also a border from the also scientific considerations are exhausted and it no other reason for such experiments exist.

Liger:

Usually, only the normal-colored tigreses with a normal-colored lion were mated or have paired off. But some people had brought together in the past also aimed lion with white tigreses, the reason was to be received naturally a white liger. In similar to white ones they mate gold tigreses (tabbies) with lions to get around a gold liger. Liger itself is a general name is not belonged to a scientific counterpart, but you find frequently in books word things like Panthera leotigris.

How already from me farther at the top suggested some ligers show big similarities with lions, while other show very strongly their tiger's descent. Tendentious the fur of a liger is provided with the light brown fur colouring of a lion. The tiger skin-rigid on this tonic are mine not continuously, but splited and reunite. The form of a candle comes to this picture most like. First of all in the head area the patrols change so strongly that these like points seem. These points likely touch from the lion successor, because the lions have a point-drawing after the birth also in the fur, this hardly seems to disappear with a liger with the age. With the eye spots of the tiger there are with the liger no regularities. It is a chance whether he does or does not got this or just like with the frill of a tiger.

However, the sounds can heared with a liger, are not only similar to lions or only similar to tigers, also there appears no intermediate vocabulary. Indeed, it is so that a liger disposes of the complete vocabulary of a lion and a tiger. You can also hear the lion roaring from a liger, but without lion-typical "grunt" sound at the end.

Marks mentioning that the biggest cat living today is a liger. In the guiness book of the records a liger with 590 kilos is led. The most heavy amurtiger who was ever measured (no scientific voucher and therefore by me nowhere else specified) brought approximately 500 kilos on the balance. A liger, standing on his back legs, is raised about 4 m.

Particularly is striking that a liger (or ligress) inherits evidently the preference for water. But it seems always so, as if they had to convince innerly, the lion page in them to go of to the water. In a zoologic garden a lion herd with a liger was observed how the lions the liger asked to go in the water to bring back a prey-/feed-piece out of the water, which had be throwen in. Unfortunately, no other information is known to me moreover.

However, ligresses are not barren else as a liger so frequently, why one has undertaken other crossing attempts also with them. If by chance a terrible liger should reproduce, certainly, this is improbable (however, possibly), was worked in in the reproduction table correspondingly (liger with ligress proves logically again a liger/ligress):

Tigon:

A Tigon is the contrary of a liger, and this even from different points of view. The parents are exact in reverse order as with the liger. Besides tigons do not incline to dwarfism and like the liger to gigantism. Also tigons are to be held essentially more difficult, also the mating of the parents is essentially more complicated. Today there exists no protected proof that there is a living tigons, but approximately 10 tigons are in private attitude.

From the size a tigon as a rule does not reach the size of the parents. Big tigons have mostly the masses of a very small tiger or a big lioness. Certainly, there are also exceptions of this rule, but these are rare extremely. They can not measure with lions or tigers (only with lionesses and tigreses), never mind with a liger or a ligress. In numbers a tigon weighs about 155 kilos.

(feminine tigon, approximately 2 years old)

There is vested proof of the existence of tigons from the year 2000. Against end of the year became a brother and sisiter, which were born in a circus, were held for a few days in the Australian national zoo. The animals were probably confiscated because of the bad attitude conditions. But they had arranged himself with the circus to the tigons and some of the tigers from the zoo can in a private enclosure, because the zoo has no capacities, they said. I got no further information about the whereabouts.

But present information from this private station seems that there aime possibilities to breed tigons. This pair tigons, I mentioned at the top, certainly, paired off with each other, but never became grew again produced. Also should have been tried there tries with liger, li-ligern and other big cats. However, in my eyes this should not be the real sense, but it forces itself the thought which should be bred there also with support of celebrated researchers in the area of the reproduction scholar aimed tigons and other hybrid. And the temptation as a single zoo world-wide holding tigons could to also bring the Australian National zoo in the spell of that- but that is only my private opinion.

I would like, following ones for the Liger, show the reproduction table. Also in this case it is extremely improbable that a male tigon is possible as a father, but some notions have formed which also find no bigger acknowledgment and are applied only by separate researchers (tigon + tigon = tigon):

How a liger the tigons inherit a preference for water, but less problems seem to have far also actually in the water go. From this exception and the size, as well as ripe speed, seen liger and tigon seem to develop themselves identically. Also tigons do tiger and lion sounds and study occasionally also a small mane. However, like with the liger can not keep up with the mane of a "normal" lion. If the manes of the hybrid are much more modest actually than this normally the case with lions is.

The other hybrid of the tigons are computationally 75% of tiger and only 25% of lion. At this level it is so, that the descendants if actually, only very much few lion characteristic features study. From the appearance they are therefore almost not from normal tigers to distinguish. However, they are to be recognized furthermore simply by the fact that they also give to typical lion sounds of themselves. Other abnormalities of "normal" tigons does not confess at the moment.

From the early years of the septuagenarians of the last century reports about tigons from the zoo are known in Calcutta. There it was also aimed tigons tries to breed. And this also succeeded. The proof are Rudhrani (1971) and Rangini (1974) - both female. However, atypical for tigons Rangini resembled in the appearance more of a lioness than one tigreses. Her sister on the contrary truely already essentially more similar to tiger. The mother was incidentally an African lioness and no Asian one.

Then Rudhrani was crossed aimed farther with a lion. And before her death in 1983 she had given about seven li-tigons the birth. Similar experiments were also planned for Rangini, but changes in policys (protection of endangered species) to the moment as she was ripe for gender, regarding of the efforts of Indira Ghandi, stopped these crossing attempts. However, it remains the dull peculiar flavour that the zoo canceld the experiments officially because there no possibility to breed fertile male offspring and the parents from Rangini and Rudhrani died.

However, only in 1985 a decree was remitted in India that these cultivation attempts refused to tolerate. Only few years after this decree the circle also shut around Rangini, because she succumbed to a cancerous disease. However, in contrast to her sister she had had never to suffer under the stress of crossing attempts (like her sister). At least this is happy!

Reports on the birth of an extremely rare ti-tigon also exist in the Indian Shambala Preserve. At that time it was supposed erroneously that also all feminine tigons are sterilely. So she was spent with an amurtiger together in an enclosure. How with the case farther at the top with the ligers, the zoologists and veterinarians thought that offsping was impossible till 16th september of 1983 - than the little ti-tigon Nathaniel was born.

I mention this case because he is something quite special also for other reasons. Although Noelle (tigon) "spoke" the tiger's language as well as the lion language and she only "talks" to Nathaniel in the tiger's language. And in spite of the erbes of his mother Nathaniel could understand only the tiger's sounds and did not control the lion language, but he developed a mane. Both succumbed nine years after Nathaniels birth to the same cancerous disease.

(Nathaniel on the left, Noelle on the right)

The big cat-hybrids between tiger and lion seem to be able to keep up from the life expectancy here rather with the normal tigers or lions. Also the immune system seems to function in most cases faultlessly. But we can see die ligers, tigons as well as the other hybrid increases in recording by cancer. The cause is fine in the fact to think that the DNA of the hybrid destabilizes faster than this for the usually case is. The exact genetic backgrounds are as far unexplored.

Nowadays it is "only" possible to be bred hybrid animals which possess the same number of chromosomes and are more similar family-genetic than the most of the population. However, in the field of the genetics progresses are registered so quickly that it will also soon be possible for animals with different chromosome number and other genetic distance to become hybridised - so a scientific expert's assessment. Unfortunately, at this point my few information were exhausted, for the moment, but I hope nevertheless something well to have mediated.