The
liger is a
cross between a male
(
Panthera leo) and a
(
Panthera tigris). Thus, it has parents with the same
but of different
. It is distinct from the similar hybrid
. It is the largest of all known cats and
.
Ligers enjoy swimming which is a characteristic of tigers and are very sociable like lions but are more likely to live past birth than tiglons. However ligers may inherit health or behavioral issues due to conflicting inherited traits, but this depends on the genetic traits of the parents. Ligers exist only in captivity because the habitat of the parental species do not overlap in the wild. Notably, ligers typically grow as large as both parents put together.
