Ligers and the Lifestyles of their Parents (Tigers and Lions)
Both lions and tigers have a very unique and different lifestyle even though they are very closely related with one another. Lions live at plain lands of Africa while tigers live at the dense forests of Asia. Both of these landscapes for lions and tigers allow them to have different lifestyles. This different lifestyle also allows them to develop unique instincts. As for a liger, he always possesses the instincts of both lions and tigers. So a lifestyle of a liger will be a blend of lion and tiger respectively.
Lions love to work in groups. Lions live in pride and they are very social animals. They like to hunt as a team. Ligers are also social animals as well. On the other hand tigers like to live alone and they are solitary animals. They hunt through an ambush, stealth or surprise. Stealth and surprise is the major weapon of a tiger. Lions also do like that but they do it as a teamwork effort and share their foods. African lions prefer to live on plain lands. On the other hand tigers prefer to live in dense jungles. Tigers' stripes help them to be highly camouflaged in the dense jungles, while the brownish color of the lions helps them to be camouflaged on the plain grounds of Savannah. Ligers on the other hand have pale stripes and tawny brown skin like lions which allows them to be suitable at both locations e.g., forest and plain lands.
Another distinctive attribute about lions is that they seek a coalition of at least 1 more lion along with them. This allows them to defend their pride against any intruding lions. Sometimes this coalition of the lion comprises of 5 to 6 lions as well. On the other hand tigers avoid coalition. If a male tiger sees another male tiger, they will go for a one on one fight rather than seeking a coalition. No coalition is ever recorded and documented about tigers. Will ligers prefer to choose coalition or will they like to be on their own in the wild? Well a liger may not be needing any coalition in the wild since he is big enough but any coalition along with the liger will even prove out to be more worthy.
Some people argue that tigers and lions have different lifestyles and because of this difference a liger will always have a confused lifestyle. This is absolutely wrong. Rather than being confused, a liger will have a lot of options and flexibility according to different situations and his adaptability will have a boost. Liger so far looks like a perfect super cat in the wild but the only problem a liger may face in the wild is a lack of food.
A liger in captivity however; may not have all the attributes of the lions and tigers. Even the captive lions and tigers will have different lifestyle as compared to the wild lions and tigers. Therefore; relating lifestyle of the wild tigers and lions with that of the liger may not be a fair relation.
Lastly lions hardly hunt in water. Even though a lion can swim but they at maximum try to avoid waters. On the other hand; tigers have a great love for water. They are expert hunters in water and are even reported to attack sailors on the boat. Ligers are never shy of water and a lot of videos have shown ligers enjoying their swim within waters.
