1. A Story About Lion-Tiger Hybrids
Ligers
A Story About Lion-Tiger Hybrids
By Molly Gallagher

2. When a mommy tiger and a daddy lion love each other very much, a liger is born.

3. A tiger and a lion only fall in love when they are in captivity together. In the wild, a lion and tiger would never mate for several reasons. Their natural habitats do not overlap, and they behave so differently that they would prefer others of their own kind.
tigers
lions
Lions habitats are mainly in Africa, whereas Tigers live in Asia. In the wild, a lion would never meet a tiger.
Tigers live and hunt alone, while Lions live in packs. Their lifestyles simply do not match up.

4. The mixing of Lion and Tiger genetics has a wide array of effects on Ligers.
As one would expect, Ligers look like a mix of a lion and a tiger. They are gold like lions, with faint tiger stripes.

5. Lions weigh between 250 and 550 pounds
The most notable effect is the Liger’s size. The growth inhibitor gene for Lions is found in the mom and in Tigers is found in the dad. Because a Liger is the product of a dad lion and a mom tiger, the Liger baby has no growth inhibitor gene! This means a Liger will grow and grow and grow because nothing is telling its body to stop growing. A liger is much bigger than both of their parents!
Lions weigh between 250 and 550 pounds
Tigers can weigh up to 670 pounds
Ligers weigh over 1,000 pounds!

6. Hybrid genetics also results in health problems for Ligers
Hybrid genetics also results in health problems for Ligers. While lions can live up to 20 years and tigers up to 26, Ligers are so unhealthy that it is rare for them to live to be over 7 years old. Ligers are prone to arthritis, unexplainable mental illnesses, and their bodies simply cannot take the strain of being so large. Outside of health problems, hybrid genetics results in male ligers being sterile, meaning they cannot have any children. A wild, self sustained liger population cannot exist. These health problems, short lifespans, and inability to sustain themselves show how unnatural ligers are.

7. Breeding Ligers is also hard on the mother tigress
Breeding Ligers is also hard on the mother tigress. Her body was designed to carry tiger babies, not liger babies. Because the liger cubs are so big, she often cannot give birth naturally. A c-section has to be performed. Whether a c-section is done or there is a natural birth, the mother tigress often doesn’t survive to see her babies.

8. So why are Ligers bred, if the ligers themselves are so unhealthy and the mother tigress often dies? The answer is entertainment. People will pay to see ligers because hybrids fascinate people.
This bottle feeding scheme is dangerous for both the Liger and the people. If the liger were to accidentally hurt someone, the person would be seriously injured and the liger would more than likely be put down. But, people will still pay money for the experience of being so close to a liger.

9. In the end, tiger mommies should be having tiger babies
In the end, tiger mommies should be having tiger babies. Because tigers are an endangered species, it is important that mother tigresses not die breeding unhealthy ligers whose only purpose is entertainment value. Plus, it is not fair to breed animals who are doomed to have a short, unhealthy lives just so that we have the experience of seeing them exist.

10. So, while Ligers may be cool to look at, it is important to support lion and tiger conservation, and not support liger breeding.
The End