…horse with a zebra? Or a lion with a tiger? Would you believe new animals? (Nope, I’m not kidding!)
A Horse is a Horse, Of Course, Of Course, Unless It Is a…Zorse?
I can’t remember where it was I first saw the image of the zorse. I believe someone sent me an email with a picture of one.
My first reaction was, “No way!”
But, yep, there before my very eyes was a horse with stripes…also known as a zorse.
I had to find out more, and here’s what I came across at a place called the Spots ‘N Stripes Ranch:
• Zorses are the result of breeding between a zebra stallion and a horse mare.
• What if it’s a horse stallion and zebra mare? You get a hebra, which apparently is even rarer than a zorse.
• You can also get such a thing as a zonkey, which is made the same way a zorse is except the mare is a “donkey jennet.”
• Zonkeys are easier to breed than zorses because donkeys and zebras apparently have a similar “language.”
• Zorses (and zonkeys) differ from horses and donkeys personality-wise in that they’re more cautious and quicker to run from a perceived danger.
• Zorses and zonkeys (and I’m assuming hebras) are trainable, and some are shown in horse shows.
Interesting.
Now my only other question is…if a horse stallion and zebra mare produce a hebra, does a male donkey and zebra mare produced a…(are you ready for this, it’s a groaner) …honky?
(Sorry. I couldn’t resist.)
Lions and Tigers and…Ligers? Oh My!
“Oh my!” is right. Same as with the zorse, someone sent me an email of a liger…but this time my skin got prickly all over. The thing was ENORMOUS.
“No way can that be real. Someone photoshopped it or something.”
Wrong. Snopes snooped it and the liger is no urban legend. It’s a bona fide 100% real creature. And guess what? They had the pics of the same beast I’d seen in the email. His name is Hercules, which is the most apropos name he could have.
• Ligers are created when male lions and female tigers mate.
• Yep, just like with the hebra above, there’s a reverse in this case too: male tigers and female lions create tigons.
• Ligers are the largest of all the cat species.
• Hercules was not purposefully bred. He was an “accident.” (Apparently his parents met on a cat compound.)
• Hercules lives at T.I.G.E.R.S. Preservation Station in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
• He’s expected to weigh as much as 1,250 pounds. (When Snopes investigated he already weighed 1,000 pounds.)
• Unlike lions but like tigers, ligers like water. One of Hercules favorite pastimes is swimming.
• He eats 20 pounds of food per day, but is capable of eating 100 pounds in one sitting.
• In the wild it’s rare for lions and tigers, natural enemies, to breed. Doesn’t help that one’s mainly found in Asia and the other Africa. But ever since around World War II, ligers and tigons have been born both accidentally and on purpose.
• There’s only about a handful of ligers in the world.
Wow!
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