Why do ligers get so big

It's a good thing you are encouraging a clamping down on this practice and repudiating it. Lewis, I can understand IF it was an accident, but usually it is done delibrately in most cases.

To prevent the accident, the zoo shouldn't be so careless. The liger is a hybrid that is NOT born sterile which is highly unusual for hybrid species produced in captivity which leads many scientists to believe that there was a possibility at one time long ago when geography and man was not an obstacle for these animals to breed. It isn't uncommon in evolutionary cycles for animals of subspecies to breed for survival. Just look at purebred dogs and cats and the genetic health risks that come along with many of the breeds.

As for the existing ligers, they should definitely be protected by law. But seeing the near extinction of both tiger and lion species in the future, perhaps we can learn something from ligers after all. Wow, quite a lot wrong with this comment. Only female ligers are not sterile, male ligers are. Mixed breed dogs are NOT hybrids, all dog breeds belong to the same species. Same with cats and cat breeds. A german shepherd and a border collie are both members of the same exact species, so breeding them together does not make a hybrid.

And yeah, they used to breed together; because they share a common ancestor and were once only a single species. It should be noted that big cats like all cats are stimulation ovulators. What this means, is that while the female goes into heat whenever their cycle normally dictates, they do not ovulate release eggs unless stimulated by certain events in the act of mating, meaning that the animals in question have to both first be amicable to the mating a female that wants none of it could easily fend of a male, even in the case of tigons.

Artificial insemination is not possible with big cats, other wise it would be far easier for zoos to bring their numbers back up. That being said, it is irresponsible for those who know of the possibility of cross-breeding to have tigers and lions or any multiple species mixes for that matter in the same pens together and not have them neutered or spayed.

If the intention of having multiple animals in one pen is breeding, it should only be with members of the same species, so as build up numbers they ARE endangered after all.

There are a few 'facts' in the is articular which I believe may be less well researched than the author thinks, despite good intentions. MMM Well I thought these animals were stunningly beautiful and I would of paid top dollar to see them close up. I would of been in the front row watching them but now after seeing this Video that's has all changed Well done to the lady who made it.. She definitely change my outlook on these BIG Cats… SO now I need to know "Why do they keep breeding these Cats cant they be stopped" as this is Animal Cruelty, if what she is saying is correct, all the defects in these Cats should be enough for animal welfare groups to pounce on them all.

Next thing we will all be having Designer Babies scary stuff alright. It's a terrible thing when people forcibly make some special kind of breed only for profit and experimentation. I never knew how tigress' could die of childbirth. Wow it's more about how ligers look, but it's their life that really counts. People have been doing it to dogs and cats for hundreds of years… for example, a Shar Pei must have a C-section because the pups are bred to have large heads; so large, she can't give natural birth.

I'm all for protecting Tigers and Lions, don't get me wrong. And this does need to stop. I just wanted to point out, that it is no more cruel than what we do to our best furry friends in our homes. I think its terrible! Poor animals. Ppl trying to play GOD!!! I say that's God job to create…nothing good can come of inter breeding and I'm not talking about people…Animals its cruel and inhumane …make it stop.

Respect life as it exists naturally in the wild. Let them remain free and true to their natures…It is the decent thing to do.

It is impossible for humans to interbreed with simians. A more accurate analogy is white and black people interbreeding and producing mullatos, but it's racist to criticise that. White and black people are members of the exact same species. The most similar thing to that is different dog breeds interbreeding which are also of the same species to produce mixed breeds which are often more healthy than purebreds.

Why are so many people so shocked about these inter breeds? Man constantly tries to play a god in our lives. They have not been educated on why this practice is so bad. In the same way, many people will still pay money to hold a baby tiger, to swim with it or take photos with them.

I did not like that the article started by saying that disreputable carnies breed these. Like the carnies were the sole cause of breeding these animals.

Much further down in the article it list the animals come from the Circus, Zoo, and Private Owners. It is not solely carnies.

Also, circus people are NOT most carnies. Carnies are usually working for Carnivals. Most carnivals do NOT have animals. If they do it is because an independent owner booked in with the fair board ran by the city, county, or state they are having the fair in.

I have never seen or heard of a FAIR breeding any kind of animal. This is heartbreaking. This is just not good. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Lions live in prides, while tigers are relatively solitary. Tigers are not subject to this dynamic. A tigress mates with one male, and so he is equally related to all the cubs. So the female does not need to evolve anti-growth imprinting defenses. You bring a female tiger, who has no defenses against paternally inherited genes which tend to encourage growth, with a male lion who will contribute exactly those genes. Register or Log In. The Magazine Shop. Login Register Stay Curious Subscribe.

The father's genes promote size of the offspring to ensure that his offspring out-compete any other offspring in the womb at the same time. Genes from the female inhibit growth to ensure that as many offspring as possible survive and that they all have an equal chance. By contrast, tigers are largely solitary and a female on heat normally only mates with one male.

There is no competition for space in the womb so the male tiger's genes do not need to promote larger offspring. There is therefore no need for the female to compensate, so the offspring's growth goes uninhibited.

When a male lion mates with a tigress, his genes promote large offspring because lions are adapted to a competitive breeding strategy. The tigress does not inhibit the growth because she is adapted to a non-competitive strategy. These differences have most likely evolved due to their different lifestyles and reproductive habits. Lions are social and live in small groups called prides. A lioness can mate with any number of male lions in the pride Because the cubs can have different fathers, there is an incentive for male lions to have the biggest offspring.

He would want his cubs to do better than their littermates! On the other hand, the lioness is mother to all the cubs in the litter. She wants all her babies to have an equal chance at surviving! Ideally, she wants all the offspring to be medium size so that she will have a successful pregnancy and be able to care for the cubs once they are born. Tigers are different. Unlike lions, they are mostly solitary.

Tigresses only mate with one male tiger at a time. All her cubs will have the same father. This means the reproductive goals of male and female tigers are the same.

Both want all the cubs to have an equal chance at surviving, so there is no pressure on male tigers to have large offspring. A pride of lions Image from Pixabay. But how do reproductive goals result in genetic differences? Mammals have evolved a way to pass on maternal or paternal goals to their offspring. They do this by imprinting. DNA is like an instruction manual. But instead of having the instructions for building a chair or a table, it has the instructions to build living things, like lions and tigers.

While sperm and eggs are in the adults, prior to fertilization, their DNA can be modified. These modifications do not change the DNA sequence itself. For example, the instructions might read:. You can make these modifications without changing any of the words in the manual.