Ligers, Ti-Ligers & Ti3-Ligers

The Ligers, Ti-Ligers and the Ti3-Ligers are the three generations of the hybrid big cats resulting from the crossbreeding at the multiple levels and at different times. The Ligers, Ti-Ligers and the Ti3-Ligers are also called the 1st, 2nd and the 3rd generations of the hybrid big cats. At the core of these three generations involves the hybridization of a lion and a tigress. These three generations are one of the biggest proofs that the ligers are not sterile and they have the ability to produce more offspring.

The Ligers, Ti-Ligers and the Ti3-Ligers are the three generations of the hybrid big cats starting from the hybridization of a lion and a tiger and followed by the hybridization of their offspring.

The world of hybridization is always full of surprises because it creates the endless possibilities of introducing the new species all the time. The same thing has been realized through the hybridization of the big cats, especially the hybridization of the lions and the tigers. People usually know about the ligers (some even don't) but most of the people definitely don't know about the Ti-Ligers and the Ti3-Ligers. Let's learn more about these three generations of the hybrid big cats starting from the ligers, Ti-ligers and finally with the Ti3-Ligers.

At the top of these three hybrid generations of the big cats are the ligers. Most people are aware about them, as they result from the crossbreeding of the male lion and the tigress which is absolutely true. Ligers are considered as the biggest of all the big cat species and even the Guinness Book of World Records have also officially recognized them as the biggest cat living on the planet earth.

Ligers are the top generation (first generation) hybrid big cats resulting from the crossbreeding of the male lion and the tigress. There are as many as 100 ligers in the world.

The Ligers are also the all time biggest of the big cat species, as they are not only bigger than the present day lions and tigers but also from the ancient Saber-toothed and the American Cave lion as well. As of 2019, there are as many as 100 ligers in the world with one liger in particular is the biggest of all and his name is Hercules the liger. Hercules is the male liger who lives at Myrtle Beach Safari, in South Carolina, USA. Hercules the liger weighs 921 pound and 11 feet long in length.

After the ligers, it's the Ti-Ligers which are considered as the second generation of the hybrid big cats. A Ti-Liger has the male tiger as its father and the female liger (or a ligress) as its mother. The birth and the existence of the Ti-Ligers is the real proof that ligers are not sterile but rather fertile. It's not known when the first Ti-Liger was born (Most probably in 1950s) but a famous Ti-Liger named as Radar lives at the Tigerworld animal sanctuary.

Ti-Ligers are the second generation big cat hybrids resulting from the crossbreeding of the male tiger and the female liger (Ligress). Ti-Ligers are very rare and very few zoos in the world have them.

He is the oldest known Ti-Liger in the world and there seems to be no record of the Ti-Liger before his birth in 2007. Therefore; we do assume that Radar is probably the world's first high-profiled Ti-Liger. A Ti-liger typically resembles closer to a tiger and in fact at times, it becomes difficult to differentiate between a tiger and a Ti-liger. A Ti-Liger has the ability to grow bigger than a lion or a tiger (male Ti-Ligers) and the world's biggest Ti-Liger lives at the Wynnewood Zoo. This Ti-liger weighs more than 700 pounds.

Lastly; the Ti3-Ligers are the third generation of the hybrid big cats and the further continuation of the Ti-Ligers' hybridization. The Ti3-Liger has the male tiger as its father and the female Ti-Liger (Or Ti-Ligress) as its mother. The birth of the Ti3-Liger is the clear indicator that not only the ligers are fertile but their offspring such as the Ti-Ligers are also fertile.

Ti3-Ligers are the third generation of the Hybrid Big Cats that result from the crossbreeding of the male tiger and the female Ti-Liger.

A Ti3-Liger almost looks like a tiger with almost no visible genes of lions. The Wynnewood Zoo in Oklahoma is the world's first zoo to breed the Ti-Ligers. It is the only zoo in the world which has ligers, Ti-Ligers, Li-Ligers, Li3-Ligers and the Ti3-Ligers.

The possibility about these big cats such as the Ti-Ligers and the Li-Ligers was mentioned long ago by Dr. Bhagavan Antle in early 2000s. Bhagavan Antle has decades of experience with the big including the ligers. He owns world's biggest liger i.e., Hercules the liger and also the world's only and rarest white ligers as well. In one of his website, he mentioned long ago that a liger can successfully mate with a male lion or a male tiger.

The idea of fertility of the ligers came from Dr. Bhgavan Antle in the early 2000s; when he suggested that the female ligers can successfully breed to produce LILI (Li-Ligers) and TILI (The Ti-Ligers).

Earlier he called the Ti-Ligers as the TILI and the Li-Ligers as the LILI. He has categorically said in many interviews that female ligers breed much better than the male ligers, however; male ligers can also reproduce as well. Onwards; in 2010, the Wynnewood Zoo in Oklahoma USA bred the Li3-Ligers and the Ti3-Ligers.

The successful breeding of the Ligers, Ti-Ligers and the Ti3-Ligers has a lot to offer than merely a breeding. First of all; it has opened a previously imposed mental barrier that the hybrids are infertile and they serve no purpose in the conservation of the big cats. Today; their successful breeding allows people to take more interest in captive big cats and also in the conservation of the big cat species in the wild.

The hybrid big cats (Ligers, Ti-Ligers and Ti3-Ligers) successfully contribute for the big cats' conservation, learning about the common genetics of the big cats and the ancient ancestors of the big cats.

People want to know the genetics of the big cats and the presence of common genes within all the big cats. They want to know more about the common ancestors of the big cats and these hybrid big cats have an answer for them. Hybrids help them in knowing this kind of knowledge. Lastly; the hybrid big cats help in fundraising worldwide to save the future of the big cats in the wild and in captivity.