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Top 10 Hybrid Animals
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Our editors have created a list about the top 10 hybrid animals. Hybrid animals are cross-breds between animals of similar genetics. They mostly exist in captivity and are the result of human intervention. |
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10. Liger/Tigon
Though they are fascinating animals, they get the last of the list because they are the most popular known among the hybrids. Ligers are crossbreeds between a male lion while Tigons are crossbreds between a male tiger and a female lion. Ligers are the world’s largest cats. Tigons on the other hand, are prone towards dwarfism and are usually smaller than either of their parents. Male Ligers/Tigons are sterile while the females are often fertile. Below shows a liger and its trainer Dr. Bhagavan Antle at a Renaissance Festival in Massachusetts, USA, October 2005.
Futher Read: Truth Or Fiction
9. Wolf Dog
Dogs and wolves tend to crossbreed rather freely. The wolf is a shy animal depending on nuances in body language, facial expression and on hunting skills to survive. Their jaws are much stronger than those of a dog and are often used to exert dominance. For a dog wolf hybrid, it is not known when it will display a wolf behaviour or dog behaviour or something in between. Obedience training is a must in order to tame the animal.
Further Read: Dog’s Owner Guide
8. Iron Age Pig
Domestic Tamworth pigs are crossbred with wild boar to create ‘Iron Age Pigs’. The hybrids are tamer than wild boar but less tractable than domestic swine and generally become specialist pork sausages. Most of them are bred for the specialist meat trade.
Further Read: Wikipedia
7. Zebroid
A zorse is the result of crossbreeding a horse and a zebra. A zonkey is the result of crossbreeding a donkey with a zebra. The Zony is the result of crossbreeding a pony to a zebra. All these three are called zebroids - defined as a cross between a zebra and any other equid. Zebroids are preferred over zebra for practical uses such as riding because of its body shape. However it is more inclined to be temperamental and can prove to be difficult to handle.
Further Read: Green Apple, Wikipedia
6. Cama
A Cama is a hybrid between a camel and a llama. They are born via artificial insemination due to the huge difference in sizes of the animals which disallow natural breeding. A Cama usually has the short ears and long tails of a camel but the cloven hooves of a llama. Also most noticeably is the absence of the hump.
Further Read: Taylor Llamas, Wikipedia
5. Grolar, Pizzly
A grolar/pizzly hybrid is the product of a grizzly bear and a polar bear. Although the two bears are genetically similar, they tend to avoid each other in the wild. During 16 April 2006, a hybrid bear was shot dead by Jim Martell,a hunter from the United States, in Canada. It was the first time a hybrid was found in the wild where previous records of grolars or pizzlies have only been found in zoos.
Further Read: BBC News, Wikipedia
4. Leopon
A Leopon is the result of breeding a male leopard and a female lion. The head of the animal is similar to that of a lion while the rest of the bodies carries similarities to leopards. The most successful breeding programme was at the Koshien Hanshin Park in Nishinomiya City, Japan. Leopons are larger than leopards and likes to climb and enjoy water.
Further Read: Wikipedia
3. Hybrid Pheasant
The Golden Phesant has commonly been crossed with the similar Lady Amherst’s Pheasant. The result is a hybrid with distinguished colors from its parents.
Further Read: Messy Beasts
2. Wolphin
A wolphin is a rare hybrid formed from a cross between a bottlenose dolphin and a false killer whale. There are currently only two in captivity at the Sea Life Park in Hawaii. A wolphin’s size, colour and shape are intermediate between the parent species. The first captive wolphin was Kekaimalu, which shows mixed heritage even in its teeth: bottlenose dolphins have 88, false killer whales have 44 and Kekaimalu has 66!
Further Read: Wikipedia
1. Ti-Liger, Ti-Tigon, Li-Tigon, Li-Liger
The top spot goes to ti-ligers/ti-tigon/li-tigons/li-ligers because it is a hybrid among the hybrids. It is a cross breed between a male tiger and a female liger/tigon or a male lion with a female tigon/liger. Do note that female ligers or tigons are fertile. They are extremely rare and are in mostly private ownership within a behavioural studies programme. In the case of ti-ligers, they have unusual striping where it breaks up and display a blotchy appearance. Since they are 3/4 tiger, their characteristics inhibit more of those of a tiger than a lion.
Further Read: Lair Web
Related Posts
October 20th, 2009 at 2:52 am
I think that it is completely wrong to make different species of animals. Scientists are saying that it’s so they can bring back endangerd animals and extict ones, but none of the animals above is natural. The only ones that i could see really happening is the wolf dog and the tiger/lion.
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Heyy these animals are weirddd (:
October 29th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Hello!
Well the people who said that artificial Insemination (AI) is wrong and unacceptable, i think that people are so ignorant!!! the AI is used to resolve a lot of reproductive problems not only in animals is used in humans too… Is Science! and it helps humans and animals, having babies and from the extintion.
The hybrids are controversial, but we have to open the mind is part of the biological science and is not a damage for any animal, is accepatble, the born of new species happens naturally too, is not an aberration, is more common than the most think. Think abou it!
October 29th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
And for u know is part of bring back extinct animals, does u know that in the DNA from birds is hiding the dinosaurs DNA??? whit hybrids we can go to the past of the specieS
October 30th, 2009 at 12:41 am
I don’t think people who try to do cross animal is try to play God. They just give nature a helping hand to make thing happen faster and easier…. This could help some animals which may risk to extinct have a second chance to last on earth.
I wonder how about a polar bear mix with panda…, white horse mix with zebra, horse and single horn rhino and straight horn antelope to make an unicorn come true…..
Good luck
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:57 am
I haven’t read all of the posts, but early on there was much talk about human-chimp hybrids. We don’t have the same number of chromosomes as chimps do. This makes producing hybrid offspring (fertile or not) very difficult. Yes, we’re very similar genetically-speaking, but those similar genes are not organized in the same way with respect to chromosomes. Regarding dogs and wolves, there are some great recent studies showing the genetic mutations responsible for the traits we see in specific breeds of domestic dogs (colouration, short legs, ridgebacks, etc.). So, not only are dogs and wolfs genetically different, so are different breeds of domestic dogs. Most would have realized this as the characters move from parents to offspring within breeds fairly reliably. However, no one can tell you how many genetic differences are needed for two groups to be considered distinct species. Regarding whales - two species of porpoises (in a group called “toothed whales” along with dolphins, orcas and even the sperm whale) hybridize here in the Pacific northwest. I have no idea about the validity of the wolphin though. Scientists playing God? In most cases we’re talking about zoo-keepers, not scientists.
Cheers
November 14th, 2009 at 10:22 am
@Dude
That’s how HIV came about. A Frenchman had sex with a chimp that had Simian Immunodeficiency Virus.. and it crossed over to him..
November 16th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Why dont we just let them free.
November 18th, 2009 at 12:10 am
Jason AND Dave got owned. ;]
November 18th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
yeah;;;;;;; these experiments are truly awesom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 19th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Personally this is Wrong. Who gives us permission to mess with Gods DNA, curiosity can be very messed up and cruel only when one begins to explore it