Is it Just Ligers and Tigons?
While liger and tigons are the most famous of the big-cat hybrids, there have been other cases of interbreeding between the four big cats4 with mixed results.1 Newborn lion cubs are spotted, which acts as camouflage in the wild. 2 This would have been more common in the past with greater numbers of both creatures, but with today’s reduced numbers, the chance of an encounter in the wild is virtually nil. 3 If a fertile tiger is carrying a hybrid offspring then there has been a missed opportunity to produce more tigers. The main aim for conservationists is to increase the population of endangered species. You can always create more ligers and tigons, but once the tiger has gone it’s gone for good. 4 Lions, Tigers, Leopards and Jaguars.
