Hybrid is defined as “the offspring of two animals or
plants of different breeds, varieties, species, or genera, especially as
produced through human manipulation for specific genetic characteristics.” Take
a look at some of these animals that still exist today.
Liger
The animal made famous by Napoleon Dynamite is actually
real. Ligers are the offspring of male lions and female tigers. While there are
legends of Ligers prowling the wilds, they currently only exist in captivity, where
they are deliberately bred.
There is a myth that Ligers never stop growing their entire
lives, which is untrue. They just grow to freakish sizes in their normal growth
window. Ligers are the largest cat in the world. Hercules, the biggest
individual Liger, weighed 922 pounds.
Tigon
When a male tiger and a female lion mate, the tigon is the
result. It used to be believed that tigons were smaller than their parent
species, but they can grow just as large. They are, however, smaller than
ligers.
Both ligers and tigons are capable of producing their own
offspring, leading to confusingly-named hybrids such as titigons and liligers.
Zebroid
A Zebroid is a cross between a zebra and any other equine.
Zebroids have been around for a long time – they were even mentioned in some of
Darwin’s writings. They tend to be male and to have the physiology of the
non-zebra parent, with zebra stripes adorning parts of their body. Zebroids are
more wild than domestic, are hard to tame, and are more aggressive than horses.
Coywolf
Coyotes are very genetically close to red and eastern
wolves, with whom they diverged only about 150-300,000 years ago. Interbreeding
between them is not only possible, but becoming more common as wolf populations
rebound. Coyotes are not, however, very compatible with gray wolves, which have
about 1-2 million years of genetic estrangement separating them. Some hybrids
do exist, though they are rare
There are a number of different coywolf hybrids, and their
populations dot North America. Generally, they are larger than coyotes but
smaller than wolves, and share behavioral characteristics of both species.
Grolar Bear
Grolar bears, also called “pizzly bears” by the less
charitable, are a cross between polar and brown bears. Their natural ranges
rarely, if ever, overlap, and most grolar bears live in zoos. However, there
have been a handful of confirmed sightings in the wild. In 2006, an Alaskan
hunter shot one.
They look pretty much like an even split between polar and
grizzly bears. Behaviorally, they are closer to polar bears than to browns.
Savannah Cat
This uncommon but awesome breed of housecat is a cross
between a domestic cat and a Serval, a kind of wild cat that lives in Africa.
They are exceptionally large and behave remarkably like dogs, following their
owners around the house, wagging their tails to express pleasure, and even
playing catch. Savannahs also do not fear water, and will invite themselves
into the shower with you. Unfortunately, they are extremely expensive.
Wholphin
When a male false killer whale and a female bottlenose
dolphin love each other very much, they produce a wolphin. “Wolphin” is a portmanteau
of “whale” and “dolphin,” which is misleading. False killer whales are actually
not a whale, and are in the same family as dolphins.
Nevertheless, they are extremely rare. They are
occasionally spotted in the wild, and there is currently only one individual in
captivity.
Beefalo
Beefalo are crosses between buffalo and cows. They’ve been
around since the 1800s, when they were called “cattalo.” Beefalo are heartier
than cattle, and do less ecological damage to the prairies they graze on.
However, beefalo breeding has led to conservation problems for wild bison. It
is now estimated that only four total herds still exist that are not polluted
by cow genes.
Hinny
Hinnies are basically reverse mules. A mule is a product of
a male donkey and a female horse, and a hinny is a product of a male horse and
a female donkey. Their heads look like horse heads, and they are slightly
smaller than mules. They’re also much less common.
Narluga
Narwhals and Belugas are the only two members of the
monodontidae family of whales, so it should be no surprise that they are able
to crossbreed. However, they are extraordinarily rare. Sightings have been
increasing in the Northern Atlantic recently, which some researchers consider a
warning sign of climate change.
Cama
Camas did not exist until 1998. Some mad scientist at the
Camel Reproduction Centre in Dubai decided to cross a male dromedary camel with
a female lama via artificial insemination, and out popped the first Cama. The
intention was to breed them to produce fur that could be clipped and sold, and
to serve as a pack animal. To date, only five have ever been produced.
Dzo
The dzo (male) and dzomo (female) are hybrids between
domestic cows and wild yaks. They exist mostly in Tibet and Mongolia, where
they are prized for their high yield of meat and milk. They are larger and
stronger than both cows and yaks, and are used as beasts of burden.
The lines can blur – it is believed that most yaks and cows
in the region now carry at least some of the other’s genetic imprint.
Leopon
If a male leopard is intrepid enough to mate with a female
lion, a Leopon is the result. It’s almost impossible for this combination to
occur in the wild, and every known Leopon has been the product of breeding in
captivity. Leopons appear to have the head and mane of a lion, and the body of
a leopard.
Geep
Goats and sheep appear to be very similar, but they are
more different than you might suspect. Natural hybrids between the two animals
are typically stillborn, and if they aren’t, occur extremely rarely. An animal
called a “sheep-goat chimera” has also been produced by artificially combining
goat and sheep embryos.
Jaglion
A Jaglion is the offspring of a male jaguar and a female
lion, and are very rare. The two pictured above were the result of a close
friendship between a jaguar named Diablo and a lioness named Lola, who were
bosom buddies at Ontario’s Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary. They’re named Jahzara
(left) and Tsunami (right).
Mulard
The Mulard is a cross between a mallard and a muscovy duck.
The muscovy duck is native to South and Central America, and is easily
recognized by its bright red Darth Maul face. Mulards are bred for food, and
are unable to produce offspring of their own
Żubroń
The żubroń is a cross between a domestic cow and a European
bison (also called a “wisent”). They are, in many ways, superior to the
domestic cow, as they are stronger and more resistant to disease. They were
thought to be a possible replacement for cattle, but now only exist in one
small herd in the Bialowieski National Park in Poland.
Blacktip Shark Hybrid
Until recently, there were no known hybrid shark species.
But the Australian black-tip shark is mating with the common black-tip, and are
regularly spotted on the Eastern Australian coast. Opinion is divided about
exactly why they have begun to hybridize.
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