Your Daily Dish

Feeding Outrageous to you Daily

Hide Advertisement
  • Animals
    • Farm
    • Pets
    • Zoo
    • Wildlife
  • Family
    • Grandparents
    • Kids
    • Parents
  • Health
    • Exercise
    • Food
    • Medical
  • Humor
  • Lifestyle
    • News
    • Science & Tech
    • Travel
  • Videos
Site logo
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Oklahoma Zoo Welcomes First Male Litter of ‘LiLigers’

By Robin Milling 2 min read
Advertisement - Continue reading below
liligers
Source: Screenshot/JoeExoticTV/YouTube

There is exciting baby news in the captive animal kingdom. For the first time in the world, a litter of four male “LiLigers” were born on September 10  at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma. No, this is not a typo. A LiLiger is the hybrid of a male lion and a female liger whose offspring produces a unique combination of the two – three quarters lion and one quarter tiger.

liligers
Source: Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park

The LiLigers are the second litter born to proud big cat parents – Simba, a male lion and Akaria, a female liger – (a cross between male lion and a female tiger); three female cubs were born in 2013 at the Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Park – now known as Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park.

Advertisement

This litter was a celebration for Joe Maldonado, who has bred hybrids at the animal park since it opened in 1999, as ligers were thought to be sterile.

“For 30 years since the liger has been in existence, everyone thought they were sterile. But we paired a baby liger and a baby white tiger male six years ago and came up with the first tiliger. That proved female ligers weren’t sterile,” Maldonado told ABC News.

liligers
Source: First female ligers/ABCNews

Maldonado has become the world’s expert of hybridizing of big cats. For over 32 years, he has fine-tuned the research needed for the science of hybrids and what they have to offer. He has worked with geneticists with the National Institute of Health and Texas A&M University for nearly 15 years to provide DNA to create these unique cross-breeds.

According to Maldonado, the reasoning behind hybrids is due to pure bred tigers and lions unadaptability to climate change – “making them extinct in the years to come.” Maldonado believes hybrids will be genetically stronger and thus able to adapt.

liligers
Source: Joe Maldonado aka Joe Exotic/okcfoxnews

LiLigers came into existence in 2012 when the first known female LiLiger was born at Russia’s Novosibirsk zoo to an 8-year-old liger named Zita. The cub was christened Kiara after the daughter of Lion King‘s Simba.

Hybreeding of big cats usually takes place in the wild, but in captivity here’s how it breaks down:

Male Tiger and Female Lion = Tigon

Male Lion and Female Tiger = Liger

Male Tiger and Female Liger = Taliger

Male lion and Female Liger = LiLiger

Male lion and Female LiLiger = L3 Liger

Watch the video of Akaria and her four male LiLiger cubs and SHARE this story if you love wild animals and their exotic breeds.

Advertisement - Continue reading below

Donald Trump’s Walk of Fame Star Destroyed With Sledgehammer by Vandal
Apple
Sara Wilkins 1 min read

Donald Trump’s Walk of Fame Star Destroyed With Sledgehammer by Vandal

Burger King to Offer Extra Long Buttery Cheeseburger, Introduces Two New Shakes
Food
Kenny Servera 1 min read

Burger King to Offer Extra Long Buttery Cheeseburger, Introduces Two New Shakes

90-Year-Old Cancer Patient Eschews Treatment for Dream Road Trip
Lifestyle
Brian Delpozo 2 min read

90-Year-Old Cancer Patient Eschews Treatment for Dream Road Trip

Fundraiser Started for Boston Police Officers Injured in Line of Duty
Apple
YDD Contributor 2 min read

Fundraiser Started for Boston Police Officers Injured in Line of Duty

Brain Surgeon Ben Carson Claims Gun Control Lead To Holocaust
News
Jason Owen 2 min read

Brain Surgeon Ben Carson Claims Gun Control Lead To Holocaust

10 Sad (But Funny) Cosplay Fails
Entertainment
Rick Meyerson 2 min read

10 Sad (But Funny) Cosplay Fails

Lucy Hale Beaks Silence After Topless Photo Hack
Apple
Sara Wilkins 2 min read

Lucy Hale Beaks Silence After Topless Photo Hack

Meet Mini-Trump, the Adorable Baby With Hair Like Trump’s
Apple
YDD Contributor 2 min read

Meet Mini-Trump, the Adorable Baby With Hair Like Trump’s

Twitter Goes Crazy After Seeing Shots of Bradley Cooper at the DNC
Apple
Mauricio Castillo 2 min read

Twitter Goes Crazy After Seeing Shots of Bradley Cooper at the DNC

Adorable Two-Month-Old Panda Loves Cuddle Time With Mom
Apple
Emily Rosenthal 1 min read

Adorable Two-Month-Old Panda Loves Cuddle Time With Mom

Boy Sees Classmate’s Soles Falling Off His Shoes and Decided He Needed to Do Something About It
Apple
Jason Owen 1 min read

Boy Sees Classmate’s Soles Falling Off His Shoes and Decided He Needed to Do Something About It

A Production Company Has Been Fooling the Internet With Fake Viral Videos
Apple
Lauren Boudreau 2 min read

A Production Company Has Been Fooling the Internet With Fake Viral Videos

sidebar

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

sidebar-alt

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • For Advertisers