Among the cat hybrids, the most interesting is of course a variety of mixed-race big cats, such as the huge and unsound lion tiger. Although many people blame this practice of breeding cross-species hybrids, there are still many people who are enthusiastic about it.
snow leopard
According to the latest classification, the cat family can be divided into the cat subfamily, the former is a small cat, the latter is a big cat, the so-called "big cat". The leopard subfamily is divided into leopard genus and clouded leopard genus, the leopard genus includes tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard and snow leopard, clouded leopard genus includes clouded leopard and Sunda clouded leopard (or Brahmin clouded leopard), a total of 7 species. Leaving aside the smaller genus of clouded leopards, only the snow leopard in the 5 species of leopards has not participated in cross-species unrequited love, and the rest are not exempt.
Lion Tiger Beast
Tiger Lion Beast
Lion and leopard beasts
Jaguar Lion Beast
Jaguar Leopard Beast
However, there is also a difference between the leopard genus, the tiger and the snow leopard are closest, but the snow leopard is endangered, and no one is willing to use it to do this boring experiment, so it is not mentioned. Tiger and leopard have only two stillbirth records, tiger and jaguar are said to have failed to conceive successfully, and the first generation of hybrids related to tigers are only lion tigers and tiger lions. Lions, jaguars and leopards seem to be on their own, and hybridization between them is relatively easy, but lions and leopards are too different in size, and there are not many surviving hybrid offspring. All mixed-race big cat males are sterile, and females can be fertile, so they can produce more complex bloodlines, such as the tiger lion tiger beast in a zoo in Jingzhou, which is the offspring of male tigers and female lion tiger beasts.
Bengal cats
Compared to big cats, the hybrids of small cats are less eye-catching, and of course there are a few famous, mainly mixed breeds of domestic cats and other kittens. The most well-known of these is the Bengal cat, a breed of cross-breeding between domestic cats and Asian leopard cats, whose origin and history are difficult to say in two words. Small cats seem to have a stronger ability to hybridize than large cats, and it should be noted that neither domestic cats nor ocelots are a genus, and their offspring have formed mature and stable breeds. The multitude of bengali cats and stripes interact with each other, fully embodying the charm of the largest mixed breed, and also making a lot of contributions to the cultivation of other emerging breeds by humans.
Savannah cat, a hybrid offspring of domestic cats and serval cats
Hybrid offspring of kara cats, domestic cats and fox cats
There are also Savannah cats, a hybrid offspring of serval and domestic cats. The breeding process of this hybrid is more difficult, because the difference in size, physiology and habits between the serval cat and the domestic cat is too large, and it is not easy to grow, so the price has remained high. It is said that the more expensive hybrid is the Caracat, a mixture of domestic cats and vicious cats, and domestic cats usually choose Abyssinian cats in order to use the stable reddish-brown less striated spots of Abyssinian cats to keep offspring close to the color characteristics of the fox cat. In addition, the hybridization history of jungle cats and domestic cats is even longer, based on jungle cat breeds such as Chausie (the domestic translation of the African lion cat, and the so-called Linqing lion cat has no half-cent relationship), Jungle Curl (jungle curly-eared cat) and so on.
Desert cats contaminated with domestic cat genes
Domestic cats have a strong ability to hybridize, it seems that the hybridization compatibility of domesticated species will be improved, wild domestic cats often stage chaos in nature, what fishing cats, black-footed cats, embroidered cats, etc. do not refuse, making genetic pollution a major threat to a variety of small wild cats. China's unique desert cat is deeply affected, pure blood desert cat has become more and more difficult to find, more is a domestic cat striped cat hybrid, in the long run, the consequences are unimaginable, which should arouse enough attention from the forestry department. Fortunately, the ugly and cute rabbit does not seem to deal with the domestic cat too much, and I have not heard of any successful hybridization records between the two of them, and the ugly face of the rabbit should be able to keep. In addition, although there are folk rumors of domestic cats and lynx hybrids, it is not confirmed by DNA and speculated to be impossible.
Hybrid offspring of tiger cats and mountain lions
There was originally a subfamily of cheetahs under the cat family, only one species of cheetah, and later according to molecular biological evidence, the cheetah subfamily was classified into the cat subfamily, and the mountain lion, which was far away from the ocean, was considered to be the closest species to the cheetah. There has never been a lace news of cheetahs, their own reproduction has been more difficult, breeding under artificial breeding conditions is very late to achieve, I am afraid it can not withstand such a huge stimulation of cross-species hybridization. However, mountain lions have had hybrid offspring with tiger cats, and there are surviving individuals in the Zoo in French Guiana, and the offspring have markings similar to those of tiger cats, but the back markings are not very continuous and the markings on the throat and abdomen are not obvious, and the back of the legs is darker and has no spots (characteristic of mountain lions), which is probably sterile.
In addition, there are also cases of hybridization of other small cat species, which will not be repeated. The study found that in the long evolution of cats, hybridization between species has always existed and played an important role, but most of the cross-species under captive breeding conditions do not produce good results, the health of hybrid offspring is generally not ideal or poor, and the genetic pollution caused by human-caused feral domestic cats should be avoided.