BBC Wildlife - UK 2020-07)

Ligers,tigonsand

whitetigers

Whataretheyandwhataretheissues

aroundbreedingthem?

A ligeristhehybridospringofa male

lionanda femaletiger,whilea tigonis

producedbya maletigeranda female

lion.Thereisnoscientificevidencethat

thesehybridsexistinthewild– even

if thespeciesencounteredeachother,

behaviouraldierencesbetweenthe

twowoulddeterthemfromreproducing.

Lionsliveinpridesandcoalitions,

whiletigersaresolitaryanimals.

Crossbreedingmakesligersthe

largestbigcatsonEarth,andmany

suerfromgeneticabnormalities.

Simplyput,big-cathybridsarea man-

madespeciesthatexistpurelyfor

entertainment,andtheydonotbenefit

theconservationofwildpopulations.

Whitetigerscanoccurnaturallydueto

a recessivegene,butthisisa rarecolour

mutationamongBengaltigers,rather

thana subspecies.Intentionalbreeding

toincreasethechancesofproducinga

whitetigeroftenleadstogeneticdefects

• in2011,theAZAbannedmemberzoos
  fromtakingpartinthepractice.

Clockwise from top left: The Washington Post/Getty; Marc Piscotty/Getty; Barcroft Med

a/Getty;

The

Wash

ngton

Post/Getty;

Dnesen

Venkatache

am/EyeEm/Getty

A WildAnimalSanctuary

employeechecksin

ononeofthetigers

rescuedfromJoe

Exotic’sanimalpark.

Formerly owned by Joe

Exotic, Oklahoma’s

Wynnewood Exotic

Animal Park continues

to draw in the crowds.

July 2020 BBC Wildlife 35

NEWS FEATURE