HYBRIDS
Hybrids are the offspring of two different
species of plant or animal. Many occur
naturally in the wild. Some have been
engineered artificially in recent years.
Ligers are the hybrid
offspring of a male
lion and a female
tiger.
They are huge; adult ligers
can weigh almost as much
as a lion and tiger
combined. They can eat up
to 30 pounds of raw meat a
day. Because of their
mismatched genes, they
are prone to blindness,
weak hearts, deafness,
and short life spans.
Male ligers and tigons are
sterile, while the females
are usually fertile.
Patrick the liger
Java the tigon,
a hybrid
offspring of a
male tiger and a
female lion.
Tigons look a lot like
ligers but are much
smaller; they weigh
half of what ligers
weigh. They also
have many of the
same health
problems as ligers,
due to their
mismatched genes.
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 body displays characteristics
of leopards. Leopons are larger than leopards, like to
climb, and enjoy water.
Zebroids
A zorse is the result of crossbreeding a
horse and a zebra.
A zonkey is the hybrid offspring of a
donkey and a zebra.
A zony is the offspring of a pony and a
zebra.
All these three are called zebroids - defined
as a cross between a zebra and any other equid.
Zonkey
Zorse
Zony
Eclyse the Zorse
Eclyse the zorse is a hybrid born from a horse father and a
zebra mother. She inherited the zebra stripes from her
mother (dominant trait), and white patches from her father
(also a dominant trait).
Mules
Mules are the hybrid offspring of a female horse and a male
donkey.
Horses have 64 chromosomes, and donkeys have 62. Mules have
63 chromosomes, which means they cannot evenly divide during
meiosis. This explains why nearly all mules are sterile.
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
very noticeable is the absence of the
hump.
Rama at two days old
Rama the Cama and her parents
Rama at two years old.
Sheep-Goat Hybrid
An unusual case of a goat-sheep hybrid was reported by veterinarians in
Botswana in 2000. The animal was born naturally from the mating of a female
goat (which is generally thought not possible) with a male sheep that were
kept together. The hybrid had 57 chromosomes, intermediate between sheep
(54) and goats (60), proving it was a real hybrid and not a case of mistaken
identity. Its features were halfway between sheep and goats.
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; previous records of grolars or pizzlies
have only been found in zoos.
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Wolf Dog
Dogs and wolves
tend to crossbreed
rather freely. A wolf’s
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
behavior or dog
behavior or
something in
between. Obedience
training is a must in
order to tame the
animal.
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!
Kekaimalu, The Wolphin
Keikaimalu
the wolphin
(bottom), with
her parents: a
false killer
whale (top)
and a
bottlenose
dolphin
(middle)