S.C. liger named world's largest feline

upi ^ | Sept. 13, 2013

[JoeProBono]

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.,- Guinness World Records announced the latest edition of its book includes a 922-pound South Carolina liger dubbed the world's largest living feline.

Sara Wilcox, public relations and marketing executive for Guinness World Records North America, said Hercules the Myrtle Beach liger, a hybrid of a lion and a tiger, appears in the 2014 "Guinness Book of World Records" as the world's largest feline, weighing in at 922 pounds and measuring 131 inches long and 49 inches tall at his shoulder, The Sun News (Myrtle Beach) reported Friday.

Hercules lives at the Myrtle Beach Safari wildlife preserve's area known as TIGERS -- The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species.

"We just knew that the largest living cat probably was the liger," Wilcox said. "We have not measured a liger before ... We are aware of other ligers."

[JoeProBono]

[CatherineofAragon]

Your pics are killing me....so adorable, lol.

Concerning the one about fighting animals in ancient Rome, I read that animal populations, and even some species, were wiped out in order to supply the Coliseum with entertainment. Very sad.

[CatherineofAragon]

Tigons don't get as big as Ligers because they don't lack a "pituitary "shut off growth" gene like Ligers. (Tigons are male tiger, female lion children, btw. Ligers are the reverse.)"

Ligers are supposed to have a particularly laid-back, mellow disposition. I wonder if that's the case with the tigon.

[JoeProBono]

[Delta 21]

One of those things could disembowel you on accident.

[Bratch]

[Georgia Girl 2]

I would say Hercules needs a personal trainer. :-)

[DemforBush]

I’d bet on the tiger. Bigger, stronger, used to operating as a solo predator (rather than a pride), etc.

Plus, tigers are just plain *cool*, so I have to root for ‘em. :-)

[DemforBush]

I only found one source on this, so take it for what it is, but according to this site, Tigons are very, very aggressive creatures.

http://www.virginmedia.com/science-nature/wildlife/hybrid-animals.php?ssid=3

[freekitty]

Whoa, that’s a big kitty.

[fabian]

oh yeah..that’s the jackalope

[CatherineofAragon]

So apparently the tigon’s disposition is opposite that of the liger. Very interesting; thank you.

[spetznaz]

My bet would be on the lion. Not the Gir lion (the Asiatic lion found in the Gir forest of India), but the African lion that is larger. Why? Because the only purpose of the lion is to protect the pride from adversaries - usually other lions that, if they kill the lion, will immediately slay all cubs to make the lionesses get into heat. That's all the lions do ...mate and fight other lions trying to take over the pride, not to mention hyena packs (most lions that don't die of disease or starvation are torn apart by hyena packs when old and alone). That's why lions have manes ...protection from other lions, not to mention making them seem larger.

Virtually all fights between lions and tigers involved Gir lions vs Bengal tigers, which was not a fair fight. A fight between an African lion and a Bengal tiger (similar size) is a whole other matter, and my bet would be totally on the King of Beasts. Every single time.

Now, if you make the tiger the Siberian/Amur tiger then this conversation is moot. The Siberian tiger is simply too large.

[To Hell With Poverty]

I wonder whether ligers use facial expressions. I know that tigers do not so there is no way of guaging their mood. However, this guy appears to have quite the contented kitty look about him, so I wonder if that might be a lion trait that is also shared with kitty cats. He looks so much like my laid-back little Felix here.

[JoeProBono]