Hercules the Liger

Hercules was the name of a male liger, who once lived at the Myrtle Beach Safari in South Carolina, USA. Hercules was a liger because his father was a lion and his mother a tigress. When Hercules was alive, he was the largest big cat in the world in captivity. During his entire lifespan, Hercules the Liger was the most popular big cat in the world. People used to watch Hercules from all corners of the world.

Introduction to Hercules the Liger

Attribute	Details
Name	Hercules the Liger
Birthday Year	2003
Place of Birth	South Carolina, USA
Zoo or Safari Park	Myrtle Beach Safari
Fame	World's Largest Living Cat

Hercules the Liger weighed 922 pounds, and because of this trait, he earned the title of the world's largest living cat. Remember, only ligers can grow twice the size of their parents, i.e., lions and tigers. An average lion weighs around 450 pounds while a tiger weighs around 500 pounds. According to his caretaker, i.e., Dr. Bhagavan Antle, Hercules used to gain about 1 pound a day (on average), and around 3 years Hercules was already weighing 900 pounds. He also stated that Hercules the Liger was a fully fit liger, who could run normally, and there was no question about his obesity.

Core Physical Features of Hercules the Liger

Feature	Details
Weight	922 Pounds
Length	11 Feet
Height	6 Feet
Average Growth	1 Pound/Day
Speed	50 Miles/Hour
Leap	50 Feet

To his biggest credit, Hercules the Liger appeared twice in the Guinness World Records, i.e., the first time in 2013 and the second time in 2014. In 2013, Hercules appeared as a hybrid big cat produced from the crossbreeding of a lion and a tigress in the Guinness World Records. Similarly, in 2014, Hercules the Liger was recognized as the largest living cat on Earth. Moksha Bybee, an animal trainer from the Myrtle Beach Safari, South Carolina, USA, appeared alongside Hercules the Liger in 2014's Guinness Book. Hercules the Liger also made several appearances in National Geographic and NAT GEO Wild documentaries.

Hercules the Liger was born in 2003 at the Myrtle Beach Safari, South Carolina, USA. Hercules was born along with a litter of 4 liger cubs. His other three siblings were male ligers whose names included Sinbad, Zeus, and Vulcan. All of these three ligers were also very huge and weighed 900 pounds too. According to Dr. Bhagavan Antle, Sinbad was the tallest, Zeus was the cleverest, and Vulcan was the most playful of all the quadruplet ligers. Both Hercules and Zeus the Ligers lived at the Myrtle Beach Safari, South Carolina, USA. On the other hand, Vulcan and Sinbad lived at Jungle Island, Miami, USA.

Hercules the Liger was about 11 feet long (10 feet and 11 inches). It was also a world record for a liger, and no other liger has measured (or at least documented) to be 11 feet long. Similarly, the caretakers at the Myrtle Beach Safari also measured the sprint speed of Hercules the Liger which was about 50 miles per hour. During the sprint, Hercules had a leap of about 40 feet. Only tigers can match this leap of 40 feet.

Hercules the Liger was a huge fond of traveling. He had moved to various places within the United States. However; his biggest traveling took place in 2010, when Hercules visited London. In London, Hercules visited London's Abbey Road and the London Underground. To demonstrate his huge size, Hercules also had a couple of pictures along with London's Double Decker Bus. According to his caretaker Rajani Ferrante, Hercules loved listening to Jazz music while traveling. Jazz music helped him stay calm. Inside the USA, Hercules regularly visited Massachusetts to appear in King Richard's Faire.

Read 99 Facts of Ligers

Behind raising the world's largest cat, i.e., Hercules the Liger, there was a great degree of dedication, love, and effort from his caretakers. Individuals like Dr. Bhagavan Antle, Rajani Ferrante, Moksha Bybee, China York, and Chris Heidin were all part of that dedicated team. It was the collective effort of these individuals that Hercules the Liger lived a great life and earned a lot of fame.