LIGER

The liger is a hybrid cross between a male Panthera leo (lion), and a female Panthera tigris (Tiger) and is denoted scientifically as Panthera tigris × Panthera leo. A liger resembles a giant lion with diffused stripes. They are the largest cats in the world, although the Siberian Tiger is the largest pure sub-species. Like tigers, but unlike lions, ligers enjoy swimming. A similar hybrid, the offspring of a male tiger and a female lion is called a tigon.According to The Tiger, Symbol of Freedom rare reports have been made of tigresses mating with lions in the wild. Under exceptional circumstances it has been known for a tiger to be forced into ranges inhabited by the Asiatic Lion, Panthera leo persica, which is a different species as the tiger, Panthera tigris. This may have occurred in the Gir Forest in India where the ranges of Asiatic Lions and Bengal Tigers overlap. This combination of species in the wild however is considered improbable.Ligers grow much larger than lions and even larger than the largest tigers. On average, ligers stand at about 10-12 ft when standing on their hind legs. The largest non-obese Liger, known as Hercules, is said to weigh over 544kg (1200 lb), over twice the size of a male lion. Hercules was also featured in Maxim magazine article in 2005, when he was only 3 years old and already weighed 408 kg (900 lb) at the time. The liger is the largest animal in the cat family (feline family Felidae).

Ligers have a tiger-like striping pattern on a lion-like tawny background. In addition they may inherit rosettes from the lion parent (lion cubs are rosetted and some adults retain faint markings). These markings may be black, dark brown or sandy. The background color may be correspondingly tawny, sandy or golden. In common with tigers, their underparts are pale. The actual pattern and color depends on which subspecies the parents were and on the way in which the genes interact in the offspring.