Is the Liger a Real Animal or Just a 'Napoleon Dynamite' Gag?

You won't find any ligers existing in the wild. ARIES_Studio / Shutterstock

The liger is the offspring of a male lion (Panthera leo) and a female tiger (Panthera tigris). There is another type of lion-tiger hybrid called a tigon, which results from the breeding of a male tiger and a female lion. But ligers specifically have male lions as their fathers and female tigers (aka tigresses) as their mothers.

How do ligers exist? Is it through accidental mating in the wild? Though natural breeding of ligers is possible, it's rare because lions and tigers do not typically exist in the same geographic areas. Therefore, ligers are typically bred in captivity and exist at a zoo or animal sanctuary.

The first breeding between a male lion and female tiger to create a liger is believed to have occurred in the late 1700s. There are currently only about 100 ligers around the world. U.S. houses the most ligers, followed by China. Ligers also exist in Russia, Germany, South Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Taiwan, Australia and Indonesia.

Similarities Between Ligers and Lions

Like father, like son; ligers are sociable, playful animals, preferring to hang around with their fellow cats.

Looks-wise, individual ligers can take on different traits from each parent species, but ligers tend to look like lions with tiger stripes. A liger's fur is typically closer to the tawny color of a lion, rather than the orange shade of a tiger.

Lion cubs have brown rosettes, or spots, on their legs and stomachs that typically disappear as they grow up, though some adults retain faint markings. These rosettes can also sometimes be seen in ligers.

Some male ligers tend to have manes, even if they are shorter than typical male lion manes. The liger head is also typically large and shaped like a lion head.

Similarities Between Ligers and Tigers

The tigress' stripes are often passed down to their liger children, though the faintness or darkness of the stripes varies among ligers.

Like tigers, ligers like the water. Though lions can swim, they typically don't like to because their bodies are not built for the water. Tigers, on the other hand, are comfortable around water, often splashing or soaking in water to cool down. Tigers can swim up to 20 miles (32 km) at a time and cross lakes that are up to 5 miles (8 km) wide.

How Big Are Ligers?

The liger tends to be bigger than both its parent species. This is because their tigress mothers don't have growth-limiting genes.

Lioness genetics, on the other hand, have adapted to cancel or dampen the male lion's growth genes, which is why tigons tend to be similar in size to its lion and tiger parents.

The largest ligers can be more than 10 feet (3.1 meters) long and weigh over 900 pounds (408 kg). They are the largest of all known extant felines (cat species).

Liger Moments in the Media

The liger had a notable pop culture moment when it was mentioned in the hit 2000 film "Napoleon Dynamite." The main character is doodling a liger in his notebook and tells his friend that the liger is his favorite animal, "bred for its skills in magic."

In the television adaptation, there is an episode called "Ligertown," in which Napoleon becomes a liger farmer as a part-time job after school.

In 2013, a liger named Hercules was inducted into the Guinness World Records Hall of Fame for being the largest living cat. Hercules is about 11 feet (3.4 meters) long, 4 feet (1.2 meters) at the shoulder and 922 pounds (418). He lives at Myrtle Beach Safari in South Carolina .

Liger Breeding Controversy

Activists equate the breeding of ligers with animal cruelty. The organization Big Cat Rescue goes so far as to say that the irresponsible breeding of ligers is done by "disreputable carnies to produce a freak that ignorant people will pay to see."

Though the liger is a majestic animal, they don't tend to live long because they suffer from birth defects. They may also have gigantism, which causes them to keep growing until their organs fail.

Also, because ligers typically grow larger than their lion and tiger parents, the pregnancy, birth and raising of a liger may put the mother tigress' life in danger.

Tragedy in Taiwan

In 2015, two liger cubs were birthed in a private Taiwan farm, even though intentionally crossbreeding is illegal under Taiwanese law.

One survived and was transferred to an animal rescue center, where it is taken care of despite its genetic issues, including a deformed spine, a tail missing bones and a disabled left hind leg.

While the rescue center takes care of Taiwan's only liger, they often use this story as an example to discourage crossbreeding.

Further Crossbreeding

Though male ligers are sterile, female ligers can have offspring. A female liger bred with a male lion is called a li-liger, and a female liger bred with a male tiger is called a ti-liger. But again, this type of hybrid breeding is highly discouraged.