Hybrid Animals are animals that originate from a cross between two different species of animals. These crosses are quite particular in appearance, it is usually quite shocking and rare to see hybrid animals. If you want to learn much more and discover some species of hybrid animals, do not hesitate for a single moment to leave without reading this wonderful article.
Hybrid Animals
Although these come from different crosses, it is well known that not all animals are fully capable of mating with others of different species, in fact, it is very rare for this to happen and hybrid animal specimens are quite rare to see. . In this article you will be able to observe different species of hybrid animals and also learn about their main characteristics.
Features
According to its own definition, it is called a hybrid animal, all those animals that have been born from the crossing of two different species or subspecies. It is very difficult to define their different physical peculiarities, however, they have characteristics of their two parents.
Generally speaking, hybrid animals or animal crossbreeds tend to be considerably stronger, which is why many humans encourage crossbreeding between two specific species and then use the offspring as work animals. Despite this, this phenomenon can occur perfectly in a wild environment, although of course, it is much less common. However, this casts doubt on whether these animals can generate offspring, and thus create new species of animals.
Are Hybrid Animals sterile?
One of the most outstanding characteristics of hybrid animals is the fact that the vast majority of these specimens are completely sterile, that is, they cannot give birth to any new offspring. This very characteristic is what makes hybrid animals so rare to observe. However, why can't hybrid animals reproduce?
Each and every one of the species possesses completely specific chromosomal loads, and these are transmitted to the offspring, however, in the process of meiosis they need to coincide at the cellular level as well, this is nothing other than the cell division that is given during sexual reproduction, and thus, give rise to a new genome. In the process of meiosis, the chromosomes from the father are duplicated and take the genetic load of both to establish different specific characteristics that the new offspring will have, these characteristics can be the color of the coat, the size, among other things.
Despite this, being animals of two different species, the number of chromosomes is quite possible that it is not exactly the same, and for this reason, each chromosome that belongs to a specific characteristic may not coincide with that of the other parent. What does this mean? If chromosome 1 from the father corresponds to the size of the tail, while chromosome 1 from the mother corresponds to the color of the coat, the genetic load will not be manufactured effectively, and for this reason the vast majority of hybrid animals are sterile .
However, despite everything mentioned above, fertile hybridization is possible in plants, in fact, according to different studies, today global warming is encouraging animals of different species to interbreed, and thus be able to guarantee their long-term survival.
Although the vast majority of these crosses result in completely sterile animals, there is a good chance that specimens that come from parents of similar species can sire new generations. In fact, this has been observed between the rodents Ctenomys minutus and Ctenomys lami, the fertility of these will be possible as long as the first of these is female and the second is a male, if this is not the case, the offspring will result infertile
Specimens of Hybrid Animals
To understand much more about hybrid animals, it is essential that we start talking about the most famous and most common species that exist today. Ten of these hybrid animals are as follows:
- Liger, comes from the crossing of a lion and a tigress
- Narluga, comes from a narwhal with a beluga
- Tigon, tiger and a lioness
- Cebrallo, comes from the cross between a zebra and a mare
- Beefalo, of an American bison and a cow
- Zebrasno, of a donkey and a zebra
- Cama, come from the cross between a dromedary and a llama
- Balfin, of a dolphin and a false killer whale
- Mule, of a mare and a donkey
- Pumapardo, comes from a leopard and a puma
- Hinnies, of a horse and a donkey
narluga
When talking about the narluga, we are referring to the hybrid animal that comes from the cross between a narwhal and a beluga. Crosses between different marine animals are quite rare, however, both species are members of the same family, the Monodontidae.
Narlugas are animals that can only be observed in arctic waters, and despite the fact that this animal came out of a crossing prompted by global warming, there are different documents that stipulate that the first sighting of a narluga occurred in the year 1980. These hybrids can weigh between 1.500 and 1.600 tons, and in addition, their size can reach up to six meters in total length.
Liger
Ligers are animals that originate from a cross between a male lion and a tigress. The physical appearance of these hybrid animals is a combination of the characteristics of their two parents: in the area of their back, and on their legs, they regularly have the typical stripes of tigers, meanwhile, on their head it is much more similar to that of lions, in fact, most males tend to develop the typical mane of lions.
Ligers usually reach a size of four meters in total length, which makes them the largest feline on Earth, however, despite this, their legs are considerably smaller than those of their parents.
tigon
Like the ligers, there is also a possibility that a hybrid could be generated from a cross between a male tiger and a lioness, which is called a tigon. Unlike the liger, tigons are felines considerably smaller than their two parents and have a physical appearance equal to that of a lion, but with striped fur typical of tigers. In fact, practically the only difference between the tiger and the tigon is their size.
beefalo
Beefalos are hybrid animals that originate from a cross between an American bison and a domestic cow. It is important to note that the breed to which the cow belongs has a decisive influence on the appearance that the beefalo will have, however, in general, the beefalo have a physical appearance quite similar to that of the bulls, quite corpulent and with a very thick coat. .
This crossing is normally stimulated by the farmers themselves, this is because the meat of these hybrid animals contains much less fat than that which comes from conventional cattle. As a curious fact about beefalos, we can mention that among these same animals, reproduction is completely possible, however, they are very infertile.
Zebrasno
When making a cross between a zebra and a donkey, a hybrid animal is produced that is given the name of zebrasno, or zebrasno. This hybrid is possible only because both the zebra and the donkey come from the same family, that is, the equidae. Normally, this crossing occurs naturally in different savannahs of the African continent, where these two species coexist daily. Physically, zebrasnos have a bone structure quite similar to those of zebras, however, their fur is completely gray, except for their legs, which, like zebras, have a striped pattern on a white background.
cebrallo
Zebras are not the only hybrid animals that come from zebras, since zebras can mate perfectly with different members of their own family, that is, the Equidae family, particularly in this case, the horse. Zebralos are hybrid animals that are given when a male zebra mates with a mare.
These animals are usually smaller than a horse, they also have a sparse and quite stiff mane. Now, as for their fur, they have a background that can be of different colors and the typical stripes from zebras are also observed. Without a doubt, the zebralos are quite rare hybrid animals to observe, however, they are quite beautiful.
balfin
The balfin is another of the hybrid animals that are also marine, these beautiful animals have their origin in a cross between a false killer whale and a bottlenose dolphin. It is important to note that, being a false killer whale, or also known as a black killer whale, it is another member of the Delphinidae family, which indicates that this crossing is actually about mating between two different species of dolphins, consequently, their physical appearance is not very unusual, in fact, it closely resembles the known parameters of these species.
However, the size and teeth that whales have are the main characteristics that help differentiate them from other species of conventional dolphins, since their size is slightly smaller and they have fewer teeth than false killer whales or bottlenose dolphins. .
hinnies
Again, this hybrid animal originates from a cross between members of the equine family, since the hinny is the result of a cross between a horse and a donkey. It is important to know that this mating is only possible through the intervention of a human being, since horses and donkeys do not live in the same environments. Likewise, the hinny is classified as a hybrid animal created by humans. These animals are practically the same size as a horse, but their head is much more like that of a donkey, their tail is characterized by being quite hairy and their body has a large volume.
Mula
Unlike the hinny, when a cross between a mare and a donkey occurs, it results in a mule, a hybrid animal which is quite common in different livestock areas. These animals have been quite famous since ancient times, and they can be born perfectly as females or as males. In fact, mules are quite famous animals and are considered the most common and best-known hybrid animal of all, this is because mules have been used as transport animals and as work animals for several centuries. However, mules are completely sterile animals, so their offspring is impossible.
Regarding the physical appearance of the mules, they present a size considerably higher than that of the donkeys, but they are smaller than the horses. One of the characteristics for which they stand out the most is for having much more strength than donkeys and also having a coat very similar to that of donkeys.
pumapardo
Pumapardos are hybrid animals that originate from the cross between a leopard and a male cougar. The physical appearance of these animals is that they are slightly slimmer than cougars, but they have a coat with many spots around their entire body, just like leopards.
Its legs are slightly short and its appearance in general is a combination between its two parents. Like the hinnies, the pumapardos are animals that cannot occur without the intervention of a human, for this reason, they are classified as another animal that has been created by the human being. For this same reason, to date there is no knowledge of any living specimen of this peculiar cross.
animal bed
The beds is a hybrid animal that is produced from the cross between a dromedary and a female llama, these are quite curious animals that stand out for having a physical appearance where the complete combination between their two parents is evident. In this way, its head is identical to that of a llama, while its body and the color of its coat is much more similar to that of a dromedary, except for the hump, which in the case of the beds is completely absent. In the same way as hinnies and cougars, beds are animals that have been created by human beings.
Other Examples of Hybrid Animals
Although the eleven species of animals mentioned above are the best known of all, it is well known that there are many others that are even rarer. Within this group we can find hybrid animals such as the following:
- Cabreja, comes from the cross between a sheep and a goat
- Coydog, between a coyote and a dog
- Dzo, these come from the cross between a yak and a cow
- Coywolf, between a coyote and a wolf
- Savannah cat, between a serval and a cat
- Jaglion, comes from the cross between a jaguar and a lioness
- Grolar, between a polar bear and a brown bear
- Tigardo, between a tiger and a leopard
- Leopon, between a lion and a leopard
- Zubrón, come from a European bison and a domestic cow
- Yakalo, between a yak and an American bison
If you want to learn much more about all the animals throughout the planet, do not hesitate for a moment to leave without first reading these three wonderful articles about the world's fauna: