Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Park in Oklahoma has recently welcomed a new member to its furry family. The country’s very first li-liger cub was born into the facility as the hybrid offspring of a male lion named Simba and a female liger named Akaria.
According to the entertainment director at the zoo who goes by “Joe Exotic,” Akaria gave birth to three female cubs around Thanksgiving.
“They were actually born during a storm, so we had to remove them from mom to keep them alive,” he told ABC News.
“For 30 years since the liger has been in existence, everyone thought they were sterile,” he went on to say. “But we paired a baby liger and a baby white tiger male six years ago and came up with the first li-liger. That proved female ligers weren’t sterile.”
The zoo eventually plans for the hybrid cubs to have their very own exhibit.
“They will be ready for public view just shortly after the first [of January],” he continued.
Check out more about the hybrid cubs here.
Based on their genetics, they could be the largest cat breed ever potentially reaching nearly 800 lbs. in weight.
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