Editing Liger (section)

{{Short description|Lion and tigress hybrid}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{hybridbox
| name          = Liger
| image         = Liger couple.jpg
| image_caption = Female (left) and male ligers at [[Everland|Everland amusement park]] in South Korea
| genus         = Panthera
| father        = leo
| father_link   = Lion
| mother        = tigris
| mother_link   = Tiger
}}

The '''liger''' is a [[hybrid (biology)|hybrid offspring]] of a male [[lion]] (''Panthera leo'') and a tigress, or female [[tiger]] (''Panthera tigris''). The liger has parents in the same [[genus]] but of different [[species]]. The liger is distinct from the opposite hybrid called the [[tigon]] (of a male tiger and a lioness), and is the largest of all known [[Extant taxon|extant]] [[Felidae|felids]].<ref name=Xixiaku>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13520472 |title=Liger cubs nursed by dog in China's Xixiakou Zoo |publisher=BBC News Asia-Pacific |date=24 May 2011 |access-date=25 May 2011}}</ref><ref name=ligerfacts2016>{{cite web |author=ligerfacts.org |title=''The Liger – Meet the World's Largest Cat'' |url=http://ligerfacts.org/ |access-date=17 July 2016}}</ref> They enjoy swimming, which is a characteristic of tigers, and are very sociable like lions. Notably, ligers typically grow larger than either parent species, unlike tigons.<ref name=Xixiaku/><ref name=ligerfacts2016/><ref name=messybeast2012>[http://www.messybeast.com/genetics/hyb-liger.htm Ligers]. ''messybeast.com''. Retrieved 4 September 2012.</ref>