I have been fascinated with the concept of hybrid animals ever since I first heard of the Liger, a cross between a male lion and a female tiger. A search brought me to hemmy.net and a list of the Top 10 Hybrid Animals. This entire post was taken from that website....it was so intriguing that I had to share!
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Our editors have created a list about the top 10 hybrid animals. Hybrid animals are cross-breds between animals of similar genetics. They mostly exist in captivity and are the result of human intervention. |
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10. Liger/Tigon
Though they are fascinating animals, they get the last of the list
because they are the most popular known among the hybrids. Ligers are
crossbreeds between a male lion while Tigons are crossbreds between a
male tiger
and a female lion. Ligers are the world’s largest cats. Tigons on the
other hand, are prone towards dwarfism and are usually smaller than
either of their parents. Male Ligers/Tigons are sterile while the
females are often fertile. Below shows a liger and its trainer Dr.
Bhagavan Antle at a Renaissance Festival in Massachusetts, USA, October
2005.
Futher Read: Truth Or Fiction
9. Wolf Dog
Dogs and wolves tend to crossbreed rather freely. The wolf is a shy
animal depending on nuances in body language, facial expression and on
hunting skills to survive. Their jaws are much stronger than those of a
dog and are often used to exert dominance. For a dog wolf hybrid, it is
not known when it will display a wolf behaviour or dog behaviour or
something in between. Obedience training is a must in order to tame the
animal.
Further Read: Dog’s Owner Guide
8. Iron Age Pig
Domestic Tamworth pigs are crossbred with wild boar to create ‘Iron Age
Pigs’. The hybrids are tamer than wild boar but less tractable than
domestic swine and generally become specialist pork sausages. Most of
them are bred for the specialist meat trade.
Further Read: Wikipedia
7. Zebroid
A zorse is the result of crossbreeding a horse
and a zebra. A zonkey is the result of crossbreeding a donkey with a
zebra. The Zony is the result of crossbreeding a pony to a zebra. All
these three are called zebroids - defined as a cross between a zebra
and any other equid. Zebroids are preferred over zebra for practical
uses such as riding because of its body shape. However it is more
inclined to be temperamental and can prove to be difficult to handle.
Further Read: Green Apple, Wikipedia
6. Cama
A Cama is a hybrid between a camel and a llama. They are born via artificial insemination
due to the huge difference in sizes of the animals which disallow
natural breeding. A Cama usually has the short ears and long tails of a
camel but the cloven hooves of a llama. Also most noticeably is the
absence of the hump.
Further Read: Taylor Llamas, Wikipedia
5. Grolar, Pizzly
A grolar/pizzly hybrid is the product of a grizzly bear and a polar
bear. Although the two bears are genetically similar, they tend to
avoid each other in the wild. During 16 April 2006, a hybrid bear was
shot dead by Jim Martell,a hunter from the United States, in Canada. It
was the first time a hybrid was found in the wild where previous
records of grolars or pizzlies have only been found in zoos.
Further Read: BBC News, Wikipedia
4. Leopon
A Leopon is the result of breeding a male leopard and a female lion.
The head of the animal is similar to that of a lion while the rest of
the bodies carries similarities to leopards. The most successful
breeding programme was at the Koshien Hanshin Park in Nishinomiya City,
Japan. Leopons are larger than leopards and likes to climb and enjoy
water.
Further Read: Wikipedia
3. Hybrid Pheasant
The Golden Phesant has commonly been crossed with the similar Lady
Amherst’s Pheasant. The result is a hybrid with distinguished colors
from its parents.
Further Read: Messy Beasts
2. Wolphin
A wolphin is a rare hybrid formed from a cross between a bottlenose
dolphin and a false killer whale. There are currently only two in
captivity at the Sea Life Park in Hawaii. A wolphin’s size, colour and
shape are intermediate between the parent species. The first captive
wolphin was Kekaimalu, which shows mixed heritage even in its teeth:
bottlenose dolphins have 88, false killer whales have 44 and Kekaimalu
has 66!
Further Read: Wikipedia
1. Ti-Liger, Ti-Tigon, Li-Tigon, Li-Liger
The top spot goes to ti-ligers/ti-tigon/li-tigons/li-ligers because it
is a hybrid among the hybrids. It is a cross breed between a male tiger
and a female liger/tigon or a male lion with a female tigon/liger. Do
note that female ligers or tigons are fertile. They are extremely rare
and are in mostly private ownership within a behavioural studies
programme. In the case of ti-ligers, they have unusual striping where
it breaks up and display a blotchy appearance. Since they are 3/4
tiger, their characteristics inhibit more of those of a tiger than a
lion.
Do you think hybrid animals are cool or do you think they're freaks of nature?
Which is your favorite?
Interesting! A fun share. The zony is just about the cutest thing ever!
Posted by: Samara | October 01, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Freaks! How weird. The Cama is the weirdest thing! I like the wolphin. He's pretty!
Posted by: Michelle | October 01, 2008 at 12:09 PM
Wow Kristi... I had no idea these things were going on! They are all pretty interesting looking.
Makes me kind of feel bad for the animals though, in today's society I'm sure they will be teased for being different!
Posted by: Ang | October 01, 2008 at 12:13 PM
i'm against it - it's not natural. i saw a special on the liger. it has a lot of health problems... i think that people messing with nature is no good!
Posted by: jessica | October 01, 2008 at 12:52 PM
Giz is a hybrid.. He is a frenchton.
Posted by: Kim | October 01, 2008 at 02:48 PM
NEAT!! WOW
Posted by: adrienne | October 01, 2008 at 03:37 PM
I think its kind of neat, but I also agree with Jessica- maybe messing with nature isn't so good. While in a way its amazing if these animals accidentally bred and reproduced, but to artificially inseminate a wild/captive animal? ehh..
And my thoughts on all the so-called "purebred" crossbred dogs (aka... Snickerdoodles, Labradoodles, Puggles and so on) that sell for beyond AKC Pedigree prices.... uh... people are getting ripped off. All they are is a mutt with a fancy name LOL!
Posted by: Nicole | October 01, 2008 at 07:06 PM
Cool Post!! I think it's interesting to see the animals, but I'm not sure what the point is, other then to see "what this will make"?! The Liger scares the crap out of me! It must weigh 600 lbs!
Posted by: noel | October 02, 2008 at 11:29 AM
Neat post. I don't know how I feel about the ethics of it, (it seems wrong) but very interesting. I like the baby Rama! They're cute!
Posted by: Dana Leigh | October 02, 2008 at 07:09 PM
I used to have those Pheasants but I never even thought of crossbreeding them. :) They are just beautiful!
Posted by: Lisa's Chaos | October 03, 2008 at 08:40 PM
thats neato i liked the wholphin the best of them all
Posted by: tatum | January 12, 2009 at 03:52 PM
wow that is really awesome that is is the shizinit right thetre
Posted by: teklayla | January 12, 2009 at 03:57 PM
the wholphin is a gurl kekemalu duh its a gurl thank you
Posted by: tatum | January 12, 2009 at 04:03 PM
this anials are so cute! I want to have those animals!
Posted by: Cherry | January 21, 2009 at 11:58 AM
Can I have a zony please?...
Posted by: Word Perv | January 28, 2009 at 02:22 PM
Stop being soo sentimental Aug .........Why wud anyone tease animals like handsome ligers,tigons or cutie cama and zony? Accordin to me the society wud not wanna tease such animals but wud rather not bother at all.
Posted by: [email protected] | February 07, 2009 at 01:03 PM
they are amazing, email me any new ones come in
Posted by: darcy | April 07, 2009 at 08:47 PM
I have a problem with all but the Wolf and dog mixes. It happens in the wild all of the time and since there is no actual genetic difference between the two, there is no problem. The other ones...that is just messing with what should not happen.
Posted by: Tara | June 07, 2009 at 07:17 PM
I have a problem with all but the Wolf and dog mixes. It happens in the wild all of the time and since there is no actual genetic difference between the two, there is no problem. The other ones...I'm not happy about at all. There is really no reason for it.
Posted by: Tara | June 07, 2009 at 07:18 PM
Oh, and I don't think that you should breed wolves with anything unless you know the nature and how to take care of them properly.
Posted by: Tara | June 07, 2009 at 07:20 PM
Unless it happens naturally, I don't think humans should intervene in nature like this, no matter the beauty it produces. I love to look in awe at them and completely respect the uniqueness of these animals, but I don't think humans should alter genetics like this.
Posted by: Summer | October 14, 2009 at 01:58 PM
I AM REALLY AMAZED ABOUT THE SIZE OF A LIGON IT WOULD APPEAR TO BE ALMOST PREHISTORIC LOOKING ACCORDING TO THE SIZES OF LONG AGO SUCH AS A SABER TOOTH TIGER IT WAS ENORMOUS IN SIZE IF THERE IS EVIDENCE OF DEFECTS IN THE ANIMAL THEN I SAY STOP IT NOW THAT WOULD BE CRUEL TO CONTINUE FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL SATISFATION ALSO YOU ARE WRIGHT ABOUT THE DOGS AND WOLFES IT IS NATURAL BUT NOT ALL THAT COMMON.
Posted by: DENNIS | November 07, 2009 at 09:37 PM