10 Comments so far

1. {Jenny} Had this To Say

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   They’re atrocities.

2. Mark Had this To Say

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   I saw a Liger at the zoo in Korea when I was stationed. I don’t think the mixture of species, no matter how closely related they are is a good thing. So to answer you question, Ligers exist but I don’t know what the others are.

3. Stan Had this To Say

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   yes, for the simple fact that they are alive.

4. Mieander Had this To Say

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   I am assuming you are asking because some definitions of “living” require it to be able to reproduce.

   In one sense, yes they are living, because they are products of living species, and if you took cells from them, theoretically you could clone another living individual.

   Evolutionarily, some hybrids like your examples are a dead end, and so some might not consider them as “living”. With this definition, neither would female worker bees in a hive, a weaker bull elk that isn’t able to attract mates, or any individual that doesn’t survive long enough to reproduce.

5. famas Had this To Say

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   Your definition of “living things” is flawed. Under your definition a castrated male mammal, or any sterile animal, is non-living.

6. Soundgardener1980 Had this To Say

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   Some Human beings are infertile and cant reproduce, but they’re still living things so yes

7. Cal King Had this To Say

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   Reproduction is one of the characteristics of living things, but there are lots of living things that do not reproduce. For example, worker bees, worker ants, and worker termites do not reproduce, but they are very much alive. Therefore there is no requirement that something must reproduce before they are considered living things.

8. Antikythera Had this To Say

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   Definitely flawed logic there. Yes, when you ask “is it a living thing”, one of the questions you ask to determine that is “does it reproduce”. But that applies to a whole species or group, not to individuals. Individuals don’t suddenly become “dead” (not alive) if they lose the ability to reproduce, and individuals who are born with deformities or other conditions that keep them from reproducing are not “dead” either.

   They can still think, feel, and suffer. Therefore you have to treat them with the same compassion with which you would treat any other living thing.

9. Cotoneaster Jay Had this To Say

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   Of course they’re living things. They are just infertile.

10. Kelly Had this To Say

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    They are not exactly natural if that’s what you mean, they are a product of man, not nature. They still do eat, sleep, and poop like all other animals so yes, they are classified as living things.