“Ligers” (a combination of lion and tiger) recorded a premiere in the animal world: the first four cubs were born from a white lion and a white tiger. Yeti, Odlin, Sampson and Apollo, the first four white ligers, seem like kittens, but after they grow they will turn into the biggest cats in the world. There are only 300 white lions and and 1200 white tigers in the world, making them extremely rare..
Parents Ivory and Saraswati and their cubs live at the T.I.G.E.R. Sanctuary in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This sanctuary has successfully bred ligers before. One of their ligers, Hercules, is the biggest cat in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Hercules is 922 pounds, but despite his big size, he’s still a sweetheart who loves playing with his handlers and his new nephews.
Yeti, Odlin, Sampson, and Apolo are gaining about a pound of weight a day. Dr. Antle, the founder of the T.I.G.E.R Sanctuary, is amazed by the cubs’ growth.
“I skip a day seeing them and it looks like they’ve doubled in size. It’s like someone’s blowing them up with a tire pump.” said Dr. Bhagavan Antle, the “creator” of the cubs.
Yeti is the most boisterous of the four, and he always wants to be the center of attention. He’s also the biggest of the four cats—Dr. Antle thinks that he may end up even being bigger than his uncle Hercules.
By the time they’re two years old, Dr. Antle believes that all four cats will be at least 10 feet tall and weigh around 750 pounds. It’s hard to imagine these tiny animals getting that big. These four liger cubs are truly one-of-a-kind. Check out the video below:
