Tygoons and Lygers are subspecies of the Feliformia genus and are the result of the mating of tigers and lions: “In nature, male tigers inherently mate with female tigers and male lions with female lions. In nature, the tiger never mates with a lion, but in captivity it does. Of course, this mating is formed by human intervention and effort. Whenever a male tiger mates with a female lion, a powerful cub named Tygoon will be born, and whenever a male lion mates with a female tiger, a large cub named Liger will be added to their family. “Tygoons and Lygers are very interesting creatures that have both the characteristics of a king of the forest and behave like a tiger. Zoologists consider Tygoons and Lygers to be the strangest felines in the world.”
Combining the tiger and lion genes was an idea that had long occupied the minds of scientists. “They researched this for years and found that with a little intervention in the genetics of these two animals, they could give birth to another powerful creature that is amazing.”
They tried to give birth to a creature superior to the tiger and the lion in two ways, one of which was artificial insemination in the laboratory, and the second was to cage the tigers with the lions during the mating season, but they had to go through different steps to implement these two methods. The first and most important step for these researchers was to select an adult tiger and an adult lion for mating.
In the first method, researchers select artificial insemination after selecting a pair in a laboratory setting. In this method, the females become pregnant in a laboratory. This is the easiest way to build a new gene from two strong genes in Feliformia.
In this method, after selecting a mate, experts must consider the mating time of females and males and cage the mate together for a few days: “The mating season of these animals in captivity is different from the mating season in the wild. Therefore, experts should consider the mating time of both animals and bring them closer together for a while so that the tiger and the lion can get to know each other and get used to each other’s presence.
It is in this situation that one can understand whether lions and tigers tend to reproduce with each other or reject each other, aggressive behaviors and attacks on each other’s privacy and cage can be signs of animals not communicating with each other. If the animals show violent behaviors during this period, their chances of reproducing are zero or very low, but as soon as the male and female show behaviors that prove their desire to mate, experts enter the stage and transfer one of them to another cage.” Sometimes tigers and lions get involved at this stage and do not allow another to be present in their privacy, but if this mating succeeds, the Tygoon and Lyger cubs will be born in a few months.
Lions and tigers live an average of 17 years in the wild and about 25 years in captivity, but Tygoons live longer than their mother and father because they are stronger than tigers and lions. Tygoons usually reach maturity at the age of six due to genetic disorders.
Tygoons and Lygers will not be able to reproduce and reproduce with each other, whether they are born through artificial insemination or natural fertilization. It is very unlikely that a cub will be born from a pair of Tygoons, so Tygoons and Lygers can never have a continuous generation. “In rare cases, female Tygoons and Lygers can get pregnant from another male, such as a lion and a tiger.” Currently, the reproduction of Tygoons and Lygers is prohibited in Iran, and three beautiful Tygoons are the only hybrid animals kept in Iran.
