On land, lions and tigers can mate to produce ligers, while in the water, whales and dolphins also combine efforts to create hybrid offspring.
Incredible Animal Hybrids
1. Zebroid
Photo: GNU.
A zebroid is a hybrid between a zebra and another species, such as a horse or a donkey. Zebroid is the term used for such hybrids and exemplifies the ability of two species with different chromosome numbers to interbreed. For instance, zebras have between 32 to 44 chromosomes (depending on the species), whereas horses have 64 chromosomes. In addition to zebroids, they are also referred to as zorses (zebra-horse hybrid) or zonkeys (zebra-donkey hybrid).
2. Savannah Cat
Photo: Jason Douglas.
The Savannah cat is a descendant of domestic cats and the wild Serval cat from Africa. Historians believe the first Savannah cat was born in Pennsylvania in the mid-1980s. The International Cat Association recognized the Savannah cat in 1996.
3. Liger
Photo: flickr.com.
The liger is the result of a mating between a male lion and a female tiger. They are larger than their parents and are the largest members of the cat family. Ligers can reach lengths of up to 3 meters and weigh as much as 315 kg.
In contrast to ligers, tigons are the result of mating between a male tiger and a female lion. Additionally, in nature, there are leos (offspring of a male leopard and a female lion), jaguleps (offspring of a spotted leopard and a common leopard), and lijaguleps (the result of mating between a lion and a jagulep).
4. Wholphin
Photo: flickr.com.
Wholphin is a hybrid between a killer whale and a bottlenose dolphin. Scientists confirm their existence in the wild. Currently, there are two wholphins living in captivity at Sea Life Park in Hawaii, USA.
The size, color, and shape of a wholphin harmoniously combine the characteristics of both parent species. For example, bottlenose dolphins have 88 teeth, while killer whales have 44 teeth, and their offspring have 66 teeth.
5. Grizzly-Polar Bear Hybrid
Photo: inhabitot.com.
This is a hybrid of the grizzly bear and the polar bear. Experts believe that global warming will increase the frequency of mating between grizzly bears and polar bears as polar bears are forced to leave their familiar habitats.
6. Beefalo
Photo: readthesmith.com.
“Beefalo” is the term used for the hybrid offspring of domestic cattle and American bison. Crossbreeding can also occur between domestic cattle and European bison or between domestic cattle and Tibetan bison. Like bison meat, “beefalo” meat contains less fat and cholesterol than domestic beef, making farmers breed “beefalo” for meat production.
7. Camel and Llama
Camels (Camel) and llamas (Llama) cannot mate naturally, even if they live together in the same enclosure (which can happen with tigers and lions) due to their significant size differences. Only through in vitro fertilization can hybrids known as Cama be produced.
Cama have short ears and long tails like camels, but their bodies are slender like llamas. Notably, they do not have humps like camels.
8. Sheep-Goat Hybrid
In 2000, veterinarians in Botswana discovered a hybrid of a female goat and a male sheep, naming it Toast. It has coarse outer fur and a soft inner coat, long legs like a goat, and the heavy body of a sheep. This animal has good vitality in the wild.
Another story occurred in Germany, at the farm of Klaus Exsternbrink. A male goat accidentally jumped over a fence and had a “one-night stand” with a female sheep. The result was a goat-sheep hybrid named Lisa. This animal resembles an ordinary sheep but has the color of fur and hind legs like a goat.
Lisa has now been sent to a veterinary school in Hanover, where specialists are conducting genetic tests to determine its hybrid status.
9. Mula Duck Hybrid
When a male Mula duck mates with a female duck or vice versa, it produces a Mula, commonly referred to in Vietnam as a hybrid duck. As a product of two different species, Mula cannot reproduce but surpasses its parents in growth and productivity.
The natural mating ratio of one male Mula duck to 2-4 female ducks achieves a success rate of 40 to 50%. Eggs incubated for 29 days will hatch. If the mating is reversed, with one male duck to 3-4 female Mula ducks, the success rate can reach 81 to 91%, with eggs incubated for 31 days. Therefore, artificial insemination is often used between male Mula ducks and female ducks to produce more offspring, which are then raised for meat.
