liger
Sign in to saveThe liger is a hybrid offspring of a male lion (Panthera leo) and a tigress, or female tiger (Panthera tigris). The liger has parents in the same genus but of different species. The liger is distinct from the opposite hybrid called the tigon (of a male tiger and a lioness), and is the largest of all known extant felids. They enjoy swimming, which is a characteristic of tigers, and are very sociable like lions. Notably, ligers typically grow larger than either parent species, unlike tigons.
AI overview
A liger is a hybrid animal created when a male lion mates with a female tiger, resulting in offspring that combines traits from both big cat species. Ligers are notable for being the largest living cats known to science, and they inherit behaviors from both parents—such as enjoying swimming like tigers while being social like lions.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
12 sectionsContents
- History
- Appearance
- Size and growth
- Records
- Health and longevity
- Fertility
- Co-occurrence of parent species
- Zoo policies
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
The liger is a hybrid offspring of a male lion (Panthera leo) and a tigress, or female tiger (Panthera tigris). The liger has parents in the same genus but of different species. The liger is distinct from the opposite hybrid called the tigon (of a male tiger and a lioness), and is the largest of all known extant felids. They enjoy swimming, which is a characteristic of tigers, and are very sociable like lions. Notably, ligers typically grow larger than either parent species, unlike tigons.
==History== The history of lion–tiger hybrids dates to at least the early 19th century in India. In 1798, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1772–1844) made a colour plate of the offspring of a lion and a tiger. The name "liger", a portmanteau of lion and tiger, was coined by the 1930s. "Ligress" is used to refer to a female liger, on the model of "tigress".