Lions, Tigers and Ligers? New Hybrid Hits Pet Market
April 1, 2008
LOS ANGELES -- The exotic pet trade is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States and it is dangerously pushing the envelope of responsible pet ownership.
The latest rage for exotic breeders is a hybrid of large cats, like lions and tigers. These hybrids are then sold as pets for up to tens of thousands of dollars.
“(The) pet market is always looking for something different or exotic,” said Martine Colette, founder of Wildlife Way Station, an exotic animal sanctuary.
This can have disastrous consequences, for both the owners and the animals. The results of what happens when these pets are cast-off can be seen at a sanctuary nestled in the hills above Los Angeles.
Wildlife Way Station is now home for Ariana, a 400-pound liger who was formerly a family pet. The hybrid big-cat creation was birthed from a lion and a tiger.
“I am not sure that the very first time it happened it was a designed concept,” said Colette. “I think it was more of an accident, but now they are produced for sale for people who would like to have an exotic animal as a pet.”
But an animal like Ariana could never exist in the wild since lions and tigers do not naturally cohabitate. The only way this happens is if a male lion and female tiger mate in captivity, and the result is a huge, wild cat which cannot live on its own.
“First of all, there’s no normal niche for a ligress,” said Colette of the female version of this hybrid. “And it takes a mother tiger 18 months to two years to teach by example.”
With no chance of ever entering the wild, these hybrids are designed to be kept in private homes or shown for photographic purposes -– until their owners realize the exotic cats are too dangerous to handle.
“They all think that while the cocktail party is going on, there’s going to be this magnificent animal just laying down there, enjoying the company of people, but that’s not true,” said Colette. “It’s going to bite them, it’s going to claw then and in extreme circumstances, it can kill them.”
There are limited restrictions on purchases of large exotic cats with many states in the U.S. allowing people to own exotic animals. More than 15,000 lions and tigers are living in private facilities, right now, but a large number of them are either abandoned or confiscated every year.
Consequently, facilities like Wildlife Way Station are full, leaving the exotic cats with no place to go.
This means the unlucky ones could be sold to camp hunts or shipped to Mexico. For most, the story does not end well.
That’s Colette’s motivation for the continual expansion of her sanctuary. She hopes to never have to turn away an exotic animal.
Ariana, is one of the lucky ones. Her diet is monitored and stabilized, her dentist cares for her teeth and vets vaccinate her.
But most of all, she has people who love her, and provide as she can be under the circumstances.
To cure the urge for owning an exotic animal, like these cats, the Wildlife Way Station has set up a program that allows individuals to sponsor an exotic animal of their fancy.
For more information, visit wildlifewaystation.org
Tell us what you think about “Lions, Tigers and Ligers? New Hybrid Hits Pet Market” below, and be sure to watch the video of this story at the top right of your page. Share your favorite videos by clicking on the ZootooTV tab. Send us your story ideas by e-mailing us at news@zootoo.com or by calling us at 877-777-4204.
Robin Wallace, Pet Pulse, contributed to this article.
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There is already a dictionary entry for LITIGON (a hybrid of an Indian lion and a tiger - itself the offspring of tiger and a lioness).
I found a relevant story on another part of the globe...though the news is old ( 4/24/2001)
The male litigon named Cubanacan at Alipur Zoological Gardens, Calcutta, India was believed to weigh at least 363 kg 800 lb. This unique animal stood 1.32 m 52 in at the shoulder and measured a record 3.5 m 11½ ft in total length. He died on 12 April, 1991.
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Just how selfish are we as humans??? Where do we draw the line???
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A liger is not a new breed -- I have heard of this several years ago -- absolutely beautiful looking animals -- but not natural...
This is a bad example -- but it's like the exotic dog breeds -- cockerpoo, morkie, etc. -- people are looking for something different -- and pay top $$$ for these 'purebreeds' that are really mixed breeds/hybrids.
And like the big cats -- the novelty wears off -- or in the case of the big cat -- get too large/dangerous -- and are thrown out of the house or banned to the yard...
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I'm on the fence about wild animals as pets; we've had the occasional raccoon and such due to orphans, but intelligence based on survival dictates that one does NOT include large predatory wild creatures. It's not fair to them, and it's highly dangerous. I love big cats, would love to have the opportunity to pet one in a zoo or sanctuary or such, but I'm certainly not going to have one as a pet.
Want an exotic? Get a rare breed of domestic kitty - Ocicat or such. Leave the big cats to the wild.
Best pet? A rescued one.
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