Monday, August 21, 2006
Liger is also a genus of spiders in the Linyphiidae family.
The liger (Panthera leogris) is a cross (a hybrid) between a female tiger and a male lion. It is therefore a member of genus Panthera. It has also been known as a lion-tiger mule. A liger looks like a giant lion with diffused stripes. Some male ligers grow sparse manes. Like tigers, but unlike lions, ligers enjoy swimming. The liger is the largest animal in the feline family Felidae.
A cross between 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.
A. A. Milne wrote in The London Magazine, "Under exceptional circumstances it has been known for a tiger to be forced into ranges inhabited by the Asian lion, Panthera leo persica, which is the same genus as the tiger. Rare reports have been made of tigresses mating with lions in the wild and producing offspring known as ligers. When a tiger and a lioness mate the cub is called a tigon.'" This would have referred to the Gir Forest in India where the ranges of Asiatic Lions and Bengal Tigers overlap.
