Non-Sterile Ligers - The Truth

Ligers to the greater extent are not sterile but rather they are fertile in most of the cases. Unlike the male ligers, the female ligers are especially not sterile and there are oodles of examples which confirm the fertility within the female ligers. However; unfortunately the ligers being the hybrids have always been stigmatized as sterile from the beginning of their origin.

Ligers are not sterile and the female ligers to the greater extent are very much fertile, as they usually give birth to the viable offspring.

Many media outlets and so called animal rescue organizations have not only stereotyped them as sterile but also questioned their health and genetic viability as well. On the contrary; the time has proven them as fertile (non-sterile) and free of any health and genetic defects. Furthermore; now we have a lot of examples to even prove the successful fertility within the ligers.

Ligers are
Not Sterile Female Ligers are
Very Much Fertile Hybrids & Ligers were
Stigmatized as Sterile Ligers - Not only Fertile but
Also Very Healthy

Theoretically speaking, the ligers should be fertile because their parents (lions and tigers) have a great degree of similarity in terms of their chromosomes. According to the hybridization theory; the biggest reason for the hybrid offspring to be sterile is the difference of the chromosome numbers within the parents. Consequently; the homologous chromosomes fail to pair during the meiosis and resultant offspring becomes sterile.

Hybridization theory states, "When the chromosomes of the parents are equal in numbers, they can successfully hybridize and give birth to fertile offspring".

However; this is not the case with the ligers because their parents i.e., lions and tigers, have equal numbers of chromosomes (19 each). As the result of the equal numbers; the homologous chromosomes successfully pair together during the process meiosis within the ligers. Therefore; the resultant hybrid offspring i.e., the ligers, have great degree of chances to be fertile and free of any genetic defects.

Both Lions and tigers have equal numbers of chromosomes (19 each), therefore; their hybrid offspring i.e., the liger, will not be sterile and will be free of any genetic defects.

Lions have
38 Chromosomes Tigers have
38 Chromosomes Ligers have
Also 380 Chromosomes When Chromosomes are Equal
Hybridization is Possible When Chromosomes are Equal
Hybrid Offspring are Fertile

Apart from theory; we have enough real life examples and samples from where we can actually study the fertility or the sterility of the ligers in much more details. According to the ligerzoos.com website, there are as many as 100 ligers in the world and this sample is almost enough to evaluate the sterility and fertility of the ligers.

The ability of the female ligers to successfully give birth to the Li-ligers and the Ti-ligers is a real proof that female ligers are not sterile. However; the male ligers have failed to reproduce any offspring.

According to our findings; female ligers all over the world have successfully bred with male lions and the male tigers to produce their viable offspring i.e., Li-ligers or Ti-ligers. Both the Li-ligers and the Ti-ligers are the second generation hybrid animals. However; we have also concluded that not even a single male liger have managed to reproduce any offspring by mating with the females either the ligress, the lioness or the tigress.

Among 100 Ligers
Female Ligers Successfully Bred Female Ligers Bred with
Lions and Tigers Female Ligers Gave Birth to
Li-Ligers & Ti-Ligers Female Ligers Didn't Breed
With Male Ligers Male Ligers
Might Well be Sterile

The fertility of the female ligers came to the limelight in 2012; when a female liger within the Novosibirsk Zoo successfully mated with a lion to produce a viable offspring called the Li-liger. This was the first instance that a female liger was successfully mated with a male lion. Furthermore; this moment itself communicated the liger critics across the globe that they are not sterile but rather fertile.

The most buzzing story came to the spotlight in 2012, when a female liger successfully mated with amale lion to produce a Li-liger offspring. It was a first instance of a female liger's successful mating with a male lion.

However; this was not the only instance that a female liger had given birth because before that around 2009 to 2010, a female liger in USA successfully mated with a tiger to produce a Ti-liger as well. That Ti-liger (Radar the Ti-liger) is still alive today and it lives at the Tigerworld animal sanctuary in North Carolina, USA.

Before that the female ligers have successfully given births to the Ti-ligers on many occasions. Radar the Tiliger was born in 2009 and it still lives at Tigerworld animal sanctuary in North Carolina, USA.

World's First Li-Liger
Was Born in 2012 Location
Novosibirsk Zoo, Russia Before the Birth of Li-Ligers
Female Ligers Gave Birth to many Ti-Ligers Famous Ti-Liger
Radar the Ti-Liger at Tigerworld

In 2017, another milestone came within the fertility of the female ligers, when a female liger at the Wynnewood Zoo in Oklahoma, USA successfully mated with a male lion to produce world's first male litters of Li-liger cubs. Oklahoma Zoo also had a privilege to introduce the world's first Li3-liger (A li-li-liger) i.e., a female Li-liger successfully mating with a male lion to produce an offspring.

Female Ligers have not only produced the second generation of hybrids but also the third generation of the hybrids called Li Li-ligers or Li3-Ligers.

Therefore; in the case of hybridization of the Lion and tigress, the female offspring keep on reproducing and is therefore; remains fertile even after second and third generation of hybridization.

America's First Li-Ligers
Wynnewood Zoo World's First Male Li-Ligers
Wynnewood Zoo

When both the male and the female hybrid animals have the ability to successfully mate together, they are considered as the pure species. No such example has been found within the ligers so far as the male ligers have failed to reproduce with the female ligers. However; the Red wolves are the best example in this regard as they are the hybrids of gray wolves and coyotes.

Ligers have the ability to produce or evolve into the second and third generation of hybrids. However; so far they haven't evolved themselves as the pure species as no male liger has been involved within successful mating.

On the other hand; when the resultant hybrid animals successfully mate with their inter-related species they are called the second generation hybrids and with another successful cycle they are called the third generation of the hybrids. Ligers (female ligers) have the ability to produce or evolve themselves into second and third generation of the hybrids.

When Hybrid animals are Fertile
They Become Pure Species Red Wolves are Hybrid
Now they are Pure Species When Female Ligers are Fertile
They Produce Second Generation Hybrids Ligers are
First Generation Hybrids Li-Ligers are
Second Generation Hybrids Li3-Ligers are
Third Generation Hybrids

Dr. Bhagavan Antle who runs Myrtle Beach Safari at the state of South Carolina, USA, is one of the very few individuals who can explain about the sterility and fertility within the ligers. He has decades of experience with the ligers and had almost a dozen ligers at its facility over the years. He also owns the world's biggest liger i.e., Hercules the liger. First of all he states that ligers are not sterile and considers ligers' sterility as a common misconception. Secondly; he confirms that the female ligers breed much better than the male ligers.

According to Dr. Bhagavan Antle, the female ligers have the ability to reproduce much better than the male ligers. However; he also thinks that male ligers can also reproduce as well.

Lastly; about the male ligers he thinks that they can also reproduce. However; so far we haven't seen any male liger successfully mating with a female big cat to produce any offspring. Therefore; the question mark largely remain regarding the sterility of the male ligers while the female ligers undoubtedly remain successful within the breeding program.