LIGER

The liger is a 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 felids. 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.