The existence of the jaglion is, for me, an example of human arrogance and self-indulgence. This exotic big cat hybrid should not exist. If you watch the video (it cannot be embedded on this page) you will hear a zookeeper speaking inanely to a captive jaglion. The whole thing depresses me personally. The enclosure looks ridiculously small and uncomfortable. There’s nothing pleasant about it but people are fascinated with exotic cats and the jaglion is certainly that being a lion/jaguar hybrid.
Update — Below the large picture is another, also supposedly Jahzara. I have added this later. This picture is more authentic in my view. The cat looks more like an lion/jaguar hybrid looking at the face and the markings are different. This is a different cat. This is the genuine article in my opinion.
The jaglion is a cross breed of a male jaguar and a female lion. I confess to say that until today I had not heard of them perhaps partly because I dislike this sort of breeding; creating exotic wild cats to titillate the viewing public.
They are very rare and there are two, perhaps the only two in the world in Ontario at Canada’s Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary (update: there may be more than two but not many more).
Their names are Jahzara and Tsunami. The picture on this page of Jahzara shows us that she is a melanistic Jaguar hybrid. I don’t know but I presume that the male Jaguar father was melanistic and the female lion was an ordinary coloured lion. His appearance is of a jaguar. I don’t see any lion in him as it happens.
Sarah Hartwell is able to add some details. She mentions the two jaglions at Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary. They were born on April 9, 2006. They were the result of an accidental mating which means they were not deliberately bred although the parents were not neutered and they lived together.
We are told from my source (but I have now have doubts) that the cat that you see in the picture on this page is the result of a mating between a black male Jaguar, Diablo (as I had guessed) and a lioness whose name was/is Lola. The couple were inseparable because they had been hand-raised together. When separated they became anxious and depressed.
Sarah tells us that female big cat hybrids are frequently fertile. In which case, Jahzara, could in theory be bred back to purebred lions to introduce the gene for melanism (a gene that makes the coat become black or very dark) into the lion species.
Associated: Hybrid cats.
Why not read a blog post on new cat breeds to see some unique domestic cats!
According to Wikipedia (which is not a 100% fact-checked source, I know), snow leopards show definite signs of interbreeding with lions (or the ancestors of modern lions) in the past, indicating hybrid(s) breeding back into the leopard line. I think we can assume this was not done by humans seeking to profit in some way…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panthera_hybrid
I take your point but this was done for human entertainment. It does not appeal to me.
I think that there is a great deal of tunnel vision at play when people become opposed to cross breeding. Genetics is an engine that actually runs on hybridization. Traits are developed by organisms and then reintroduced back to populations to drive evolution. That is a keystone for life to adapt to our ever changing world. The human hand of introducing animals to breed their traits to create a new organism is ONLY adding a new set or recipe to the mix. It is not removing the animals old DNA because there are still more individuals that posses the old set of code.
I truly hope that the norm of science becomes people who can open up their narrow view of what life truly is.
Sarah Hartwell is the main source. She is a world authority on unusual, exotic, rare wild cats.
Hi Michael, I just read all the above comments. Our jaglions were not bred intentionally. In fact, we had Lola (mother to jaglions) on birth control for 4 years. She was on birth control at the time she bred. So, yes it was a huge and awkward surprise. If we had in fact bred these two species with intent, we would have published it. They were not bred for publicity or for financial reasons. We had them spayed and neutered so there was no chance of any breeding between them. We also did neuter Tsunami more importantly so he would not grow a mane. These two were brought into this world without our assistance. They are both healthy and have a great temperament. They are not included in our tours. So again, we are not putting them on display as some would say. Please feel free to ask any questions you wish. I will gladly answer them if they warrant one. I do have a question for you. Where did you do your research on these jaglions?
Thanks, Nicole For your comment. I appreciate it. I did do research on this as my article indicates but the information that I obtained was obviously rather vague and therefore I had to qualify the article in a way which tells readers that the information was not clear.
Because of your comment I can now amend the articles slightly to update it.
As to fertility and infertility, I refer to a lady whose name is Sarah Hartwell who is an expert on these matters and therefore once again I did my research. I refer to females being fertile which is what Sarah Hartwell would have told me. Are you sure that you are correct in saying that females are infertile?