Manes of Ligers
Ligers do possess a magnificent mane around their necks. This physical characteristic specifically of a mane also accumulates ligers to be one of the very few big cats which have manes around their necks. Lions are believed to be the only species among big cats which have a huge mane around their necks. A mane is a visibly large group of hair around the neck and the belly of a lion. Some male tigers also develop a small mane around their neck but their sizes are very small when compared with a lion. When a lion is crossbred with a tigress; it passes on its genes which have tendency to grow mane when the offspring (liger) becomes an adult. It should also be noted that just like the male lions; only the male ligers have manes around their necks. Some lionesses are also spotted with mane around their necks but this instance is very rare and in the case of ligresses no such instance has ever been recorded so far.
Interestingly; all the male hybrid big cats which have male lions as their fathers usually possess a beautiful mane around their necks. Apart from ligers some other hybrid animals which have manes around their necks include Lipards, Li-Liger and Li-Tigons. A Lipard has a male lion as its father and a Leopard as its mother while Li-Liger and Li-Tigons are second generation liger hybrids having female ligers and tigons mated with a male liger. Therefore; genetically male lions have mane genes which they always pass on to their young ones even in the process of hybridization as well.
However; we have also witnessed that some of the male ligers didn’t have any mane around their necks. For example world’s biggest liger i.e., Hercules the liger didn’t have any mane around his neck. Furthermore; his other 3 brothers Zeus, Sinbad and Vulcan also didn’t have any manes around their necks as well. Similarly; a liger named as Rocky also didn’t have mane around its neck. Therefore; the presence of the mane within some ligers and its absence still remains a big mystery as well. In the wild we have also seen that some male lions also don’t have manes around their necks. Researchers have pointed out that such lions might have a low testosterone level which results in lack of mane development within these lions. Therefore; we can generalize same conclusion for the ligers as well at this moment. Another reason can for male liger not to have a mane is having more dominant tiger genes as compared to the lion genes.
When it comes to the size of the mane, the lions seem to have the largest mane of all the hybrid big cats. Ligers do possess a dominant mane around their necks but this mane is still much smaller as compared to the mane of the lions. Ligers usually have a very well trimmed mane around its neck. A lion’s mane is spread from its neck to its deeper belly. However; in the case of a liger, li-liger and li-tigon the mane is usually around the neck while its presence is absence at the belly area. Therefore; even though ligers are twice bigger in size than the lions; their mane is twice smaller than the mane of the lions.
Ligers usually have brown colored mane around their necks. In our observations of all the manes of the ligers; we didn’t identify any other color of the mane but brown. However; the manes within the lions come with a lot of colors. For example some lions have a dark black mane around their necks while others have blonde or brown colored mane around their necks. Similarly; white lions have white colored manes around their necks. According to National Geographic experts; a lion with a black mane is more dominant and expecting to lead the pride as compared to a lion with a brown or blonde mane. Black maned lions are also considered as more brutal and ferocious than the brown ones. Furthermore; even the lionesses prefer a black maned lion as compared to the blonde or brown one.
Are there any advantages for the lions with the manes and does the same applies for the ligers as well? The advantage of the mane for a lion is usually in the wild. It is fully believed that a mane helps a lion against any neck bite or injury. This is the key reason that when a coalition of male lions fights with a rival coalition they single out a male lion and tend to bite on its back side because that’s why maximum damage is going to be inflicted. However; on the other hand all the ligers live in captivity. Therefore; presence of manes within their bodies just hardly serves the purpose for its protection. Furthermore; if a liger will ever be in the wild; its size and the presence of a mane will make him an undefeatable big cat with no rivals having a power to topple it.
