Posted on 08/16/2010 6:35:52 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Private zoo in Taiwan could be fined after breeding 'ligers' a cross between a lion and a tiger.
The zoo is the island's first to breed the hybrid of a lion and a tigress, but officials seized the cubs and said they may fine the owner.
The three liger cubs were born in Taiwan on Sunday at the World Snake King Education Farm in the south, but one of them died almost immediately.
"The pregnancy of the tigress caught me totally unprepared," said Huang Kuo-nan, the farm's owner.
"The lion and the tigress have been kept in the same cage since they were cubs more than six years ago, and nothing happened."
But the Tainan county government later in the day seized the two baby ligers, relocating them to a home for wild animals in another southern county.
"What else can I do? I respect the decision, but I hope the two cubs can be taken good care of," Mr Kuo-nan said.
He faces a fine of up to 50,000 Taiwan dollars (£1,000) for breeding wildlife without authorities' prior approval, said the Council of Agriculture.
According to the Taipei-based Apple Daily, there are only around 10 surviving ligers in the world, with adult ligers capable of growing
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Is it just me ? Don’t those cubs look like tions?
There used to be a beautiful liger named Shasta at Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. She was a gorgeous animal. I don’t know her breeding history.
All lion cubs in a womb are not necessarily from the same father. As such the father has encoded in the DNA he passes on to promote placental growth, and the female blunts this signal.
Tigers, usually have one or two cubs only and they are almost always from one father.
So if you cross a female tiger with a male lion, the male lion sends the signal, the female doesn't blunt it, and devotes HUGE resources to the kid, and you get a Lyger - larger than either a Lion or Tiger.
If you cross a female lion with a male tiger, the female lion blunts an incoming signal that isn't nearly as strong as expected and placental growth isn't as robust, and you get a Tigon - smaller than either a Tiger or Lion.
I saw that movie yesterday. Really strange and sort of funny. I think I will sign up for classes at Rex Kwon Do.
I loved that movie. I liked it even better the 2nd,3rd,4th...times I watched it.
-Your momma goes to college.
break the wrist and walk away
I loved that movie. I liked it even better the 2nd,3rd,4th...times I watched it.
-Your momma goes to college.
In Mexico we do that all the time.
Yep it will be nice to have someone watch my back, no more flying solo.
Could you bring me some chapstick? My lips hurt real bad!
Oriental Corruption Alert! Oriental Corruption Alert ! !
Consider the value of such animals, and then it becomes clear why those privately bred, privately owned animals were taken from their rightful owner.
I am going to put that movie on my Netflix Queue. I was distracted and didn’t catch the last few minutes of it.
Not to rain on the party here but I recently watched a documentary about this cross breeding....apparently their temperment is unpredictable and many have attacked their owners as well as each other. Certain organizations are trying hard to outlaw this cross breeding....various reasons from their aggressive nature to their short lifespan etc. Wish I could remember the title of that show...but the idea is these creatures are not “normal” in their behaviors and create high concerns among those who study animals.
Yeah, those mules are damned dangerous critters.
Well I wouldn’t call a lion and tiger combination even remotely a mule by comparison....there is no comparison when it comes to temperments between a mule and a liger.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.