Tigon

A tigon is the artificially bred hybrid of a male tiger and a female lion. The tigon is not as common as the converse hybrid, the liger, however in the late 1800s and early 1900s, tigons were more common than ligers. Tigons do not occur naturally in the wild, as the lion and tiger have very different behaviours and habitats. The only locality in which both species are present is the Gir Forest National Park in India.

Related Topics:
Bred - Hybrid - Male - Tiger - Female - Lion - Liger - Habitats - Gir Forest National Park

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Tigons can exhibit characteristics of both parents: they can have both spots from the mother (lions carry genes for spots - lion cubs are spotted) and stripes from the father. Any mane that a male tigon has may have will appear shorter and less noticeable than a lion's mane and is closer in type to the ruff of a male tiger. Tigons usually grow smaller than lions or tigers, due to the fact that they inherit growth-inhibitory genes from both parents; they often weigh around 150 kilograms (350 lb). They appear "housecat-like". However, some have reached the size of the smaller parent.

Related Topics:
Mother - Father - Mane - Gene - Kilogram - Housecat

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The comparative rarity of tigons is attributed to male tigers finding the courtship behaviour of a lioness too subtle and thus may miss behavioural cues that signal her willingness to mate. However lionesses actively solicit mating so their current rarity is most likely due to them being less impressive in size than ligers. A century ago, tigons were evidently more common than ligers. Gerald Iles, in "At Home In The Zoo" (1961) was able to obtain 3 tigons for Manchester's Belle Vue Zoo, but wrote that he had never seen a liger. A number of tigons are currently being bred in China.

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