(no subject)
Patrick
a Liger
By far the largest and most unusual cat at the Shambala Preserve, Patrick is a liger: the hybrid offspring of a lion father and a tiger mother. Weighing in at an estimated 800 pounds, his ruddy coat shows faint stripes and he also has a modest mane. He "fuffs" like a tiger and roars like a lion, although without adding the deep grunts at the end that most lions do. Patrick was born in the summer of 1990 and formerly resided at Deer Path Animal Haven, a roadside zoo in Illinois. Conditions for the animals at the park were deteriorating, and eventually their license was revoked and it was closed. Their animals were placed at other facilities; Patrick and Cujo, a Bengal tiger whom we renamed Jiang, came to Shambala on May 14, 1998. When Patrick was examined, it was determined that his cage at the zoo had been so small that the muscles in his hindquarters and back legs were seriously losing muscle tone. His compound here at Shambala allows him plenty of room for exercise; and a stream runs through it so his tiger half can play in the water or his lion half can stay out of it, whichever he chooses.
Nathaniel and Noelle
Ligers and their counterparts, tigons (tiger father and lioness mother), almost certainly exist only in captivity. Lion and tiger habitats only overlap in one area, the Gir Forest of India, and both are extremely rare. Additionally, the solitary tiger would be very unlikely to socialize with a pride of lions. Shambala once also had a tigon, the beautiful Noelle, who was born at Christmas, 1978. She also had a vocabulary of both lion and tiger sounds, and light stripes. Because she was a hybrid, everyone "knew" she was sterile, and so she joined Anton, a male Siberian tiger. To the surprise of everyone, including Shambala's veterinarians, she gave birth on September 16, 1983 to an extremely rare "ti-tigon." He was given the name Nathaniel, after Tippi Hedren's real name of Nathalie. From the beginning, Noelle "spoke" only tiger to her rambunctious cub. Nathaniel grew to be quite large, like Patrick. As he was three-quarters tiger, Nathaniel's stripes were darker than his mother's, and he had no mane. Sadly, both Noelle and Nathaniel are no longer with us. We wonder what they and Patrick might have talked about!
FLIPPIN SWEET!!!!
a Liger
By far the largest and most unusual cat at the Shambala Preserve, Patrick is a liger: the hybrid offspring of a lion father and a tiger mother. Weighing in at an estimated 800 pounds, his ruddy coat shows faint stripes and he also has a modest mane. He "fuffs" like a tiger and roars like a lion, although without adding the deep grunts at the end that most lions do. Patrick was born in the summer of 1990 and formerly resided at Deer Path Animal Haven, a roadside zoo in Illinois. Conditions for the animals at the park were deteriorating, and eventually their license was revoked and it was closed. Their animals were placed at other facilities; Patrick and Cujo, a Bengal tiger whom we renamed Jiang, came to Shambala on May 14, 1998. When Patrick was examined, it was determined that his cage at the zoo had been so small that the muscles in his hindquarters and back legs were seriously losing muscle tone. His compound here at Shambala allows him plenty of room for exercise; and a stream runs through it so his tiger half can play in the water or his lion half can stay out of it, whichever he chooses.
Nathaniel and Noelle
Ligers and their counterparts, tigons (tiger father and lioness mother), almost certainly exist only in captivity. Lion and tiger habitats only overlap in one area, the Gir Forest of India, and both are extremely rare. Additionally, the solitary tiger would be very unlikely to socialize with a pride of lions. Shambala once also had a tigon, the beautiful Noelle, who was born at Christmas, 1978. She also had a vocabulary of both lion and tiger sounds, and light stripes. Because she was a hybrid, everyone "knew" she was sterile, and so she joined Anton, a male Siberian tiger. To the surprise of everyone, including Shambala's veterinarians, she gave birth on September 16, 1983 to an extremely rare "ti-tigon." He was given the name Nathaniel, after Tippi Hedren's real name of Nathalie. From the beginning, Noelle "spoke" only tiger to her rambunctious cub. Nathaniel grew to be quite large, like Patrick. As he was three-quarters tiger, Nathaniel's stripes were darker than his mother's, and he had no mane. Sadly, both Noelle and Nathaniel are no longer with us. We wonder what they and Patrick might have talked about!
FLIPPIN SWEET!!!!