Liger On Display

image I know that Ligers are Napoleon Dynamite's favorite animal, but I didn't think they were real. Apparently they are. One of them is on display at a Siberian zoo. Its father was a lion. Its mother was a tiger:

"This was not the result of a scientific experiment," RIA Novosti quoted zoo director Rostislav Shilo as saying at the time. "It's just that the lion and the tiger live in neighboring caves in the Novosibirsk zoo, and got used to each other. It's practically impossible in the wild."

Animals

Posted on Sun May 01, 2005



Comments

Erm hehe
Who is Napoleon Dynamite?
Posted by Sharruma  on  Sun May 01, 2005  at  09:35 PM
I know this one, Shar! Only cos I saw the DVD. It's a movie and character. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374900/ I don't think it was even released here in cinemas.
Posted by Smerk  on  Sun May 01, 2005  at  11:18 PM
At least, I hope that's who Alex means?
Posted by Smerk  on  Sun May 01, 2005  at  11:19 PM
I've seen them - they've got some at the zoo in Canberra (Oz). Apparently there's also such a thing as tigons - where the father is a tiger and the mother is a lion.
But yeah, the people in Canberra say they're really rare too and only come from lions and tigers being kept in close proximity in captivity. Very cute though 😊
Posted by Nefertari  on  Sun May 01, 2005  at  11:45 PM
ok I tell a lie - they don't have ligers in Canberra, they do have tigons though. Check out the link below... scroll down about half way...

http://www.zooquarium.com.au/cats.htm
Posted by Nefertari  on  Sun May 01, 2005  at  11:51 PM
"Napoleon Dynamite" is an alias Elvis Costello (which is also an alias) uses from time to time.
Posted by BugbearSloth  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  12:50 AM
"It's practically impossible in the wild."

Its completely impossible in the wild, as to my knowledge the two species do not have an overlapping geographic range of occurrence. I do know the most eastern occurrence of lion is in the extreme west of India, but that is not tiger country yet I believe. They have different habitats too.
Posted by LaMa  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  02:04 AM
Quite right, LaMa. Although there used to be species of tigers and lions co-existing in the Asian realm.
Posted by DFStuckey  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  03:46 AM
...But if one ran really far and DID end up in ther other's territory, it COULD happen. It's not impossible. Tigers swim. Their lands still connect.
Posted by Maegan  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  05:53 AM
I looked up ligers and tigons for a project last year, so I knew it was a real animal. It's really quite interesting.

Many male lions can impregnate a female lion, so they have hormones that make their own baby grow bigger and bigger, so that their's will be the one that's born. To counter-act this, the female lion has hormones that stunt the growth of a baby, so that they won't grow too big and kill her while she's giving birth

A tiger is different. Only one male can make a female pregnant and they don't have those hormones. So when a male lion impregnates a female tiger, the baby will be born huge, much bigger than a regular lion, because there's nothing to stunt it's growth. When a female lion gets pregnant by a male tiger, the baby will be smaller than both it's mother and father, because of the hormones in the mother. That's the difference between a liger and a tigon.
Posted by Stan  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  05:54 AM
Wooooo, a Liger, coooool.
Posted by X  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  07:18 AM
I'm fairly certain we discussed this last year. Oddly, though, I can't find any postings containing "liger" or "tigon" from before this year. I'm not imagining it, am I? Help me Oh Spirit Of MOH!
Posted by Charybdis  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  07:32 AM
Liger. Sweeeeet.
Posted by booch  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  10:26 AM
I thought it had been posted before also.
Posted by Maegan  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  12:29 PM
...but you're right...I can't find any blogs with it...
Posted by Maegan  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  12:34 PM
Ligers do exist, but, as already mentioned, only in captivity. I think ligers (like mules) are themselves sterile, so there will be no F2 generation, but I'm not certain of that.

It's not a new phenomenon. I first read of "Ligers" and "Tigons" when I was in elementary school-- which, as faithful readers of MoH know, was several hundred years ago.
Posted by Big Gary C in Dallas  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  12:46 PM
interesting, i dont suppose the liger is also known for its skills in magic? 😊 :lol:
Posted by spazEabE  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  03:43 PM
Our local zoo in Salt Lake (the Hogle Zoo) Had a liger at one point by the name of Shasta. However, by the time I ever went to the zoo, she had died, and they had actually stuffed her, and placed her in the hall of our large feline enclosure. She was there for many years, until the zoo management decided that having the stuffed carcass of a former exhibit animal was far too creepy, even for our small, and vaguely creepy, zoo. I don't know what happened to her after that. I will say that she, and the ligers pictured, looked nothing like Napoleon's drawing, which makes me smile even now.
Posted by DaveG  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  04:23 PM
A quick kistorical followup from:
http://www.hoglezoo.org/about/zoo.history.php

1948
Female liger is born May 14. Father a lion, mother a Bengal tiger. Named "Shasta" because 'she hasta' have this and 'she hasta' have that. Shasta died in 1972 of old age. Her taxidermy mount is now exhibited at the Monte L. Bean Life Sciences Museum at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah
Posted by DaveG  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  04:24 PM
utah eh? hmmmmm 😠 ...thats where napoleon dynamite was shot, jk i have no idea where that movie was shot, looks somthing like arizona though, thats close enough for me..... i wonder if theres any connection..........????? (=P)
Posted by spazEabE  on  Mon May 02, 2005  at  06:35 PM
i am just anxiously waiting for a Tiglion....sweet
how beatiful what the animal kingdom reserves for us in the cat family
Posted by shyguy  on  Tue May 03, 2005  at  03:04 AM
Ummm, yes.
Posted by Boo  on  Tue May 03, 2005  at  10:39 AM
I am Napoleon.
I know this because we never used dynamite.
Posted by Beasjt  on  Tue May 03, 2005  at  12:53 PM
Napoleon Dynamite was shot in Preston,Idaho (the setting of the story). Preston is in southeastern Idaho, pretty close to Utah. Several of the film makers went to Brigham Young U. (I think)

I live in northern Idaho (it's much, much prettier, IMHO). When the movie came out on DVD, you couldn't find it in stores here (it just flew off the shelves).
Posted by hippievet  on  Tue May 03, 2005  at  01:35 PM
I'd always heard the term as Litigon, before that silly movie came out. Might try searching for that.
Posted by Barghest  on  Wed May 04, 2005  at  12:42 AM
Litigon is what you get when you cross a lawyer with a lion.
Posted by Big Gary C in Dallas  on  Wed May 04, 2005  at  05:36 PM
yeah smart one!!
Posted by joesmoe  on  Thu Jun 23, 2005  at  01:14 PM
I'm exceptionally late in adding anything here, but you can also check out a live liger that lives at a tiny zoo outside of Reno, Nevada.
Posted by Cuddle Bunny  on  Wed Aug 17, 2005  at  06:08 PM
Sorry, messed up the link.

http://www.sierrasafarizoo.com/animals/liger.htm
Posted by Cuddle Bunny  on  Wed Aug 17, 2005  at  06:09 PM
ther is not such thing as a liger they are totally fake ive been to that zoo and all they have is lions and tigers no inbred lions and tigers your an idiate if you think this is true and enyone can make that pic so if you dont drop this faulty info ill sue because i could really use the money
Posted by shawnee  on  Mon Jan 16, 2006  at  06:51 PM
:lol:
Oh no! Alex, you 'idiate', now you're in trouble!
Posted by Boo  on  Tue Jan 17, 2006  at  02:19 AM
Ligers are surely one of the biggest cats in the world. They have stronger appearance. Ligers and tigers have same tales. Ligers and lions have same ears. Ligers and tigers have same stripes. Ligers and lions have same skin color. Blend of beauty Blend of beast. this is surely a magnificent liger....
Posted by www.ligerworld.com  on  Thu Dec 23, 2010  at  12:26 PM
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