{"id":544665,"date":"2010-04-27T13:00:13","date_gmt":"2010-04-27T17:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/green.yahoo.com\/blog\/guest_bloggers\/36\/six-amazing-hybrid-animals.html"},"modified":"2010-04-27T13:00:13","modified_gmt":"2010-04-27T17:00:13","slug":"six-amazing-hybrid-animals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/544665","title":{"rendered":"Six amazing hybrid animals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ligers, tigons and grolar bears, oh my! Take a look at some of these otherworldly hybrid animals and you’ll realize the possibilities are endless.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Though they rarely occur in nature, individuals from different but closely related species do occasionally mate, and the result is a biological hybrid \u2014 an offspring that shares traits from both parent species. You may have heard of the mysterious sheep-pig creature<\/a>, but it turns
\nout that one isn’t a true hybrid.<\/p>\n

Here are six bizarre, but truly unique half-breeds.<\/p>\n

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\"image
\n
(Photo: Wiki Commons \/ GNU)<\/em>
<\/center><\/p>\n

Zebroids<\/strong><\/p>\n

A zebroid<\/a> is the
\noffspring of a cross between a zebra and any other equine, usually a
\nhorse or a donkey. There are zorses, zonkeys, zonies, and a host of other
\n combinations. <\/p>\n

Zebroids are an interesting example of hybrids bred from
\nspecies that have a radically different number of chromosomes. For
\ninstance, horses have 64 chromosomes and zebra have between 32 and 44
\n(depending on species). Even so, nature finds a way.<\/p>\n

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\n\"image
\n
(Photo: Jason Douglas \/ Wiki Commons \/ public domain)<\/em>
<\/center><\/p>\n

Savannah cats<\/strong><\/p>\n

Savannah cats<\/a><\/p>\n

are the name given to the offspring of a domestic cat and a serval \u2014 a
\nmedium-sized, large-eared wild African cat. The
\nunusual cross became popular among breeders<\/a> at the end of the 20th
\ncentury, and in 2001 the International Cat Association accepted it as a
\nnew registered breed. <\/p>\n

Interestingly, savannahs are much more social than
\n typical domestic cats, and they are often compared to dogs in their
\nloyalty. They can be trained to walk on a leash and even taught to play
\nfetch.<\/p>\n

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\n\"image
\n
(Photo: aliwest44 \/ Flickr)<\/em>
<\/center><\/p>\n

Ligers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ligers<\/a> are the cross of a male lion and
\n a female tiger, and they are the largest of all living cats and
\nfelines. Their massive size may be a result of imprinted genes which are
\n not fully expressed in their parents, but are left unchecked when the
\ntwo different species mate. Some female ligers can grow to 10 feet in
\nlength and weigh more than 700 pounds. <\/p>\n

Ligers are distinct from tigons,
\nwhich come from a female lion and male tiger. Various other big cat
\nhybrids have been created too, including leopons (a leopard and a lion
\nmix), jaguleps (a jaguar and leopard mix), and even lijaguleps (a lion
\nand jagulep mix).<\/p>\n

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\n\"image
\n
(Photo: Mark Interrante (aka pinhole) \/ Flickr)<\/em>
<\/center><\/p>\n

Wholphins<\/strong><\/p>\n

A cross between a false killer whale
\nand an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, wholphins<\/a> are hybrids
\nthat have been reported to exist in the wild. There are currently two in
\n captivity, both at Sea Life Park in Hawaii.<\/a> <\/p>\n

The wholphin’s size, color, and shape are intermediate between the parent
\n species. Even their number of teeth is mixed; a bottlenose has 88
\nteeth, a false killer whale has 44 teeth, and a wholphin has 66.<\/p>\n

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\"image
\n
(Photo: via Inhabitots.com)<\/em>
\n<\/center><\/p>\n

Grolar bears<\/strong><\/p>\n

The offspring of a grizzly bear and a
\n polar bear, a
\n grolar bear <\/a>is one beast you don’t want to meet in the woods.
\nInterestingly, unlike many hybrid animals on this list, grolar bears are
\n known to occur naturally in the wild.<\/p>\n

Some experts predict that polar
\nbears may be driven to breed
\nwith grizzly bears<\/a> at an increased frequency due to global warming<\/a>,
\n and the fact that polar bears are being forced from their natural
\nhabitats on the polar ice.<\/p>\n

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\n\"image
\n
(Photo: via readthesmiths.com)<\/em>
<\/center><\/p>\n

Beefalo<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beefalo<\/a> are the fertile
\noffspring of domestic cattle and American bison. Crosses also exist
\nbetween domestic cattle and European bison (zubrons) and yaks (yakows).
\n The name given to beefalo might be the most suggestive, since the breed
\n was purposely created to combine the best characteristics of both
\nanimals with an eye towards beef production.<\/p>\n

A USDA study showed that beefalo
\n meat, like bison meat, tends to be lower
\nin fat and cholesterol<\/a>. They are also thought to produce less damage
\n to range-land than cattle.<\/p>\n

\n
Bryan Nelson is a regular contributor to Mother Nature Network<\/a>, where a
\n version of this post<\/a>
\noriginally appeared.<\/em><\/p>\n

More from Mother Nature Network<\/strong><\/p>\n