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cnhn t1_j9fjp2a wrote

Reply to comment by RAMPAGINGINCOMPETENC in TIL that ligers (the offspring of a male lion and female tiger) are the largest big cat because, unlike lionesses, female tigers do not possess growth-limiting genes to counter the growth-maximising genes of male lions. by argh-ok

despite the repeated assertions that they are sterile, the answer is more complex.

the male hybrid offspring ligers are generally sterile the female ligers are fertile.

so for example a tiliger is the offspring of a male tiger and a female liger.

it seems most of the great cats have some limited interbreeding, so tigers, lions, jaguars, leopards, and snow leopards.

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Taleya t1_j9gt3gg wrote

Iirc cheetahs bottlenecked so hard at some point their diversity is terrifyingly small.

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Lasarte34 t1_j9h2vcl wrote

Ah, just like humans.

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Taleya t1_j9h45xg wrote

Worse. They can pretty much take an organ donation from any other cheetah worldwide with no rejection or special considerations

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Dirtroads2 t1_j9ichxb wrote

That sounds amazing at first, but then the turntables turn

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Remnants t1_j9g107h wrote

Is a male tiliger sterile? Would it be possible to breed a stable crossbreed through selective breeding that produces non-sterile males?

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cnhn t1_j9g2l0g wrote

if I recall male sterility isn't 100% but I haven't looked at any of the information in a long time.

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DuckonaWaffle t1_j9gyn5v wrote

This sounds like the mad scientist idea from a B horror / apocalypse film.

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Full_Temperature_920 t1_j9h9uud wrote

This sounds like some human transmutation shit. Y'all gone fuck around and break the law of equivalent exchange

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