3 Comments so far

1. Mr. T Had this To Say

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   A liger? That’s pretty much my favorite animal.

2. Amber G Had this To Say

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   Well, lions and tigers are technically two different species (lion=Panthera leo; tiger=Panthera tigris). It seems to me that crossbreeding between species is simply human curiosity. We just want to see what will happen. Or, in the case of crossbreeding a horse with a donkey to get a mule, we do it to create a stronger more usable animal.

3. Doctor Y Had this To Say

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   There are many animals that will try and mate with anything that looks even vaguely acceptable. I used to know a river tour guide who had more experiences with dolphins molesting turtles than he liked to recount.

   Tiger-lion crossbreeds have been occasionally seen in the wild from time to time, and have reportedly been produced in zoos by accident.

   Of course, some creatures are intentionally crossbred by humans. The purpose is usually to try and get a bunch of desirable traits into one super-creature. Of course, what is a ‘desirable trait’ is a matter of opinion. That’s why we have a hundred different breeds of dog – they’re all related to the wolf originally, but now many couldn’t breed with one if they wanted to.

   Sometimes it is sterility such creatures typically have that we’re after, too… having your work animal become pregnant not only gets less work from it but may kill it as well. Triticale is a good example grain that was produced by crossing two different species specifically so it couldn’t be pollinated by anything in the wild.