Have you ever wondered what would happen if you crossed a tiger with a shark? Nope that’s not what a tiger shark is.

Today, I’m exploring the mystery of hybrid animals. Animals whose parents are members of different species. We’re not talking Griffons, which are half Eagle, half lion, but there are some hybrid animals out there that are quite real.

What a surprising discovery had on Emma’s trip to Spain! Hybrid animals? Isn’t that… impossible? Don’t hybrid animals come from mythology? Complete fiction?! How can there possibly “pizzly bears” out there?

THE QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Do hybrid animals really exist?

Yes! Some of these hybrids might be encouraged by humans, but others happen completely normally in nature – like the coywolf: the baby of a wolf and coyote, or the mule – a hybrid of the horse and donkey.

Most, but not all, of these hybrids are sterile. The liger or tigon (lion x tiger) and jalion (jaguar x lion). Two ligers can’t have another liger baby, but a coywolf can! Wolfdogs are also fertile, barely a hybrid species, because of how close the two animals are genetically.

Some types hybrid animals (that are not sterile) have been bred specifically by humans to “create” new species. The Savannah cat breed for example, is a hybrid of the African Serval and the Domestic Cat, while the Bengal breed is a hybrid of the wild “leopard cat” and regular housecats.

There are plenty of cool hybrids out there, like the zorse (horse x zebra), beefalo (bison X cow), cama (camel x llama) and so many more! Are there any we haven’t named that you can think of? Let us know!

Do you have a fun animal mystery you want us to explore?
Let us know in the comments in the Earth Rangers App!