October 05, 2005

LIGER

Long ago, outside the old city of Singapore, which was considered to be the city of Lions, there was reported to be giant brown beasts. This was before the Asiatic lion was reduced to such low numbers that there are now less than 200 left in the Gir forest. This huge animal might just be an explanation for this myth, for he is neither a lion nor a tiger, but he is about the size of both of them combined. The liger is the world's largest big cat. An average male liger weighs over 900 pounds and standing almost 12 feet tall.

The 10 ft Liger (from Tiger Family) who's still growing. He looks like something from a pre - historic age or a fantastic creation from Hollywood. But he is very much living flesh and blood - as he proves every time he opens his gigantic mouth to roar. Part lion, part tiger, he is not just a big cat but a huge one, standing 10ft tall on his back legs. Called a Liger, in reference to his crossbreed parentage, he is the largest of all the cat species.

A liger is the result of breeding a male lion with a female tiger. It has stripes and spots. The spots are inherited from the lion parent even though adult lions do not appear to be spotted. The liger is a hybrid cat that inherits most of the strengths of both parent species and is larger than either.