The Great Liger

Liger Facts

Where do the Ligers?

Irresponsible breeders is the short answer.
A liger is the result of breeding a male of a tigress lion. A tigon is the result of breeding a male tiger to a lioness. Given that there are no lions and tigers in the same areas, this is not something happens in nature. Performed captive by carnies disreputable to produce a phenomenon that ignorant people will pay to see. These cats suffer from many birth defects and usually die young. Due are ligers usually larger than any parents, but also puts the tigress at great risk to bring the young and may require cesarean deliveries or kill her in the process. When the public stops paying for these unfortunate creatures, evil people responsible for breeding them will stop this inhumane practice.
You can stop the abuse. Do not support places like tigers and Jungle Island, that ligers race. Bhagavan Antle who calls himself Doc Antle , the person most often see promoting this shameful practice, has done everything for us and the brave girl to stop created the video at the bottom of the page that lets you know the truth. Visit his YouTube site HERE and let her know that you appreciate what you are doing to prevent future breeding ligers and tigons.
When you see ligers in the news or on television, write the station and let the journalists know the truth about hybrids. You can send 5 letters at a time to the media of your choice through our email system online CatLaws.com

Actually they are not this dramatic. See actual photos of ligers below.
To learn more about Big Cat Rescue liger and tiger rescue .
Read about the conviction of those involved in hunting preserves in the United States . try to excuse his behavior by making the case that ligers and tigons are not protected by the Act Endangered Species. Now you know why many of these backyard breeders shoddy are trying to produce more of them.

Ligers and tigons

Video of a cat Advocat Grande. Visit their site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKYILLEdy5s
The following story tries to make it sound like it could be a reason to breed lions and tigers for public amusement, but anyone who cares for animals knows that this is a despicable thing to do because cats have to spend their lives deprivation and confinement and are genetically so unhealthy that usually die young. The only reason anyone breeds ligers is to create a monster that simple minded people will pay to see.

Ligers Make a "Dynamite" Showtime

by Maryann Mott August 5, 2005
It's half lion, half tiger, and completely real. Now thanks to a cameo in the 2004 cult film Napoleon Dynamite, the liger has leaped to fame, prompting fans to ask, What are they really like?
The shaggy-maned creatures are slightly scratched pups male lions and female tigers, which gives them the ability to both roar like lions and chuff like tigers-a supposedly affectionate sound that falls somewhere between a purr and a raspberry.
Weighing about one thousand pounds (450 kilos) each, which typically devour 50 pounds (23 kilograms) of raw meat in a meal.
"For the most part are very laid back," said Jason Hutcherson, vice president of Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia. "They like to swim and play in the water."
It is believed that the park drive-through wildlife have higher concentration of ligers in the country, home to ten of the big cats.
Since 1999, the park has bred its male lion and female tiger many times, producing about 24 cubs.
Not all of them have been healthy, though.
"We've had 3 out of 24 that, for practical purposes, were normal but developed as they grew older some kind of neurological disorder," Hutcherson said.
Autopsies did not reveal the cause of the cubs to develop "head shakes," so park staff "attributed to a genetic defect," Hutcherson said.
Accredited frown on the practice of mixing two different species and have never bred Zoos ligers, says Jane Ballentine, a spokesperson for the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, based in Silver Spring, Maryland.
"Keeping the two species separate has always been standard procedure," she said.

Ligers wild?

Long before fans heard Napoleon claim that the liger is "pretty much my favorite animal," there have been rumors of the existence of the hybrid in nature.
Lion-tiger mating occurs in captivity. But this does not occur in nature, probably for the same reason that humans do not breed with gorillas or chimpanzees.
"Crossing the species line" does not usually occur in nature because it "would result in a decrease in the fitness of offspring," said Ronald Tilson, director of conservation at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley.
Geography is another obstacle to the lion-tiger mating natural. Wild tigers mainly inhabit Asia, whereas the present natural habitat of the lion is almost entirely in Africa.
The Gir National Forest in India is the only place in the world where tigers and lions ranges overlap, fueling speculation that wild ligers roamed the area hundreds of years ago.
Tilson does not believe it.
"This would be highly improbable, because the Gir forest is really very dry and not optimal tiger habitat," he said.

A Liger Named Patrick

Perched on the edge of the Mojave Desert near Los Angeles, California, a lone liger, named Patrick, lives at Shambala Preserve, which bills itself as "a haven for big cats endangered exotic species."
"The interesting thing about these animals is that they have the best qualities of the best tiger and the lion," said movie actress and conservationist Tippi Hedren, who has run Shambala since 1972 "Those qualities manifest in the fact that it would be in water [a tiger trait] and are very social "[a lion trait].
Many cats at the sanctuary of 80 acres (32 hectares) are orphans or outcasts from circuses, zoos, and private owners who could no longer care for the animals.
Patrick arrived at the sanctuary seven years ago after federal authorities stop roadside zoo in Illinois, where he lived.
The 800-pound (360 kilogram) liger was kept in a small cage so that the muscles of his hind leg had begun to atrophy, Hedren, who starred in Alfred Hitchcock The Birds said.
Patrick compound in Shambala him plenty of room to exercise allowed. A stream runs through his compound, so his tiger half can play in the water or half lion can stay out of it, whatever they choose.

Liger in the hills

Spirit of the Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Spearfish, South Dakota, recently acquired a liger named Samson and 48 other big cats after federal authorities closed a center for wildlife Minnesota.
"Everyone who comes wants to see Samson," said Trevor Smith, environmental biologist and sanctuary board member.
The four-and-a-half-year-old hybrid tips the scales at over a thousand pounds (450 kilograms) and eats 30-50 pounds (14-23 kilograms) of raw meat on alternate days.

"Samson is really picky. He will only eat beef, elk, and deer," Smith said. "We try and feed him chicken, like other animals, but we will not touch it. Going to let him rot in the sun."
The sanctuary-whose mission is to educate people about wild animals and emphasize that they are not good pets-has seen an increase in visitors since Samson's arrival in June.
Much of the public's curiosity about the liger stems from Napoleon Dynamite, Smith said.
Smith worries that Samson is "becoming too much of a circus."
If Samson had his way, Smith said, he would sleep away the day inside, away from public view. 
"We had a great ethical debate at the sanctuary of whether or not we should leave it out of his shed," Smith said. "But at the same time, that is why visitors are coming."

Tigons and Ti-tigons

A tigon is the product of a male tiger and female lion. Growth inhibitors receive genes from both parents and therefore are smaller than either one. Show the same coloration of ligers except they sometimes have more distinct stripes. As with ligers the females are fertile, while males are sterile. They have the same vocalizations as liger, a sort of cross between a lion and tiger. Ti-tigons talking tiger. Tigons are now less common than ligers, but in late 1800 / early 1900 tigons were more common.
Meet our friends liger last Freckles 
This lion and tiger have been raised together for the purpose of creating ligers bad. The female was spayed and the male has a vasectomy on arrival at Big Cat Rescue to ensure that there would be "accidents."

Ligers in the News

 
Big Cat Rescue does not condone the breeding of ligers. These news stories are published so you can help educate people about why it is cruel to breed ligers and tigons.