Life is wonderful

Ligers, hybrid of the male lion and female tiger

Ligers - Panthera Leo × Panthera Tigris (no scientific name and they are a hybrid)

 

Ligers are a result of cross breeding between a male lion and a female tiger.  They are not found in the wild.  The male lion and the female tiger would not breed in the wild, as they more likely fight to defend themselves and in they would avoid each other to protect themselves.

ligers (cross between male lion and female tiger)

 

Ligers can live with both lions and tigers.  The liger is a social animal.  Ligers have the head of the lion and the body of a tiger.  When they are breed together it enhances both species genes?  They about 11 feet tall and weigh about half a ton (500 kilograms).  The liger shares traits both from the lion and the tiger but the traits inherited from the lion is more.  They have a muscular body and their fur is sandy or dark yellow and there are distinctive faint stripes, which is inherited from the mother.  Other colour is white which comes from a white tiger.  The male liger can have a mane like the lion but it is not as impressive as the male adult lion.  Sometimes there is no mane on the liger male.  The stripes are more noticeable on their hind quarters.  The liger can also inherit the spots found on the back of the tiger’s ears along with the tufted fur around their chins.  The liger has very strong and large jaws with sharp pointed teeth that are used for tearing through flesh.  The sharp claws also help them to catch prey.

 

If the ligers were to be found in the wild they would be a dominant predator and the only thing that would be a threat to them is HUMANS, but they are not find in the wild and the place where they are found are in zoos who keep them only in order to make money.

liger kept in capitivity - zoo

Ligers were breed in the 19^th century when a litter of cubs were born in Asia 1824.  No other litters were recorded until 100 years later in a zoo in South Africa (the bastards!).  The ligers have no conservation status and they never bred in the wild.  The ligers have no value to conservationist.  Thank God there are some countries in the world that have banded the breeding of these ligers.

 

One of the traits that the liger shares with the tiger is the love of swimming though it might take them time to venture into the water as the male lion does not like water.  A liger can run at the speed of 50 mph (80kmh).  The roar of the liger can either sound like that of the lion or the tiger, depending on the given situation at the time.  Being hybrids they can have shorter lives as they are prone to cancer and other diseases.

If the ligers were to be found in the wild they would be a dominant predator and the only thing that would be a threat to them is HUMANS, but they are not find in the wild and the place where they are found are in zoos who keep them only in order to make money.

Ligers were breed in the 19^th century when a litter of cubs were born in Asia 1824.  No other litters were recorded until 100 years later in a zoo in South Africa (the bastards!).  The ligers have no conservation status and they never bred in the wild.  The ligers have no value to conservationist.  Thank God there are some countries in the world that have banded the breeding of these ligers. 

One of the traits that the liger shares with the tiger is the love of swimming though it might take them time to venture into the water as the male lion does not like water.  A liger can run at the speed of 50 mph (80kmh).  The roar of the liger can either sound like that of the lion or the tiger, depending on the given situation at the time.  Being hybrids they can have shorter lives as they are prone to cancer and other diseases.

liger with it human pet

The gestation period is a 100 days.  The tigress of liger cubs might need to have a C-section as the liger cubs is big when they are born.  They can give before from 2 to 4 cubs.  The cubes eyes are not open and they are totally depended on the mother until they reach the age of 6 months. 

The liger cubs grow very fast.  The cubs weight 1.5 kilogram at birth and can put on as much as half a kilogram per day.  By the end of their first year that could weigh 165 kilograms and by the time they reach 3 years old as much as 320 kilograms.  The liger’s cubs have darker spots on their fur and these spots can remain when the liger reaches maturity, especially on their undersides.  Sadly many of the liger cubs are born with birth defects and they don’t survive for more than a week.

 

liger cubs

When the cubs mature it’s unlikely they can breed as more than often they are sterile with each other.  The female liger would have to be breed with a lion or a tiger.  The resulting cubs would either be called a li-liger or a ti-liger depending on the father.

 

Tigers - Panthera Tigris

The tiger had nine subspecies.  Three of these are extinct and the other six are on the critically endangered or endangered list according the IUCN (Union for the Conservation of Nature) Red List.  Tigers are the world’s largest cat.

 

1.       The Sumatran Tiger – Panthera Tigris Sumatrae

The name of the tiger is due to the fact that these tigers can only be found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.  According the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, there are between 500 to 400 tigers left.  The Sumatran is the smallest of the remanding subspecies of tigers.  This tiger is on the critical endangered list.  The tiger has the darkest coat, and the black stipes are broad and closely spaced and even doubled.  It also has striped forelegs.  Most of the remaining tigers now live in five national parks, two game reserves and about 100 live in unprotected areas that most likely will be lost to agriculture in the future.  This is the greatest threat to these tigers, followed by poaching.  It is illegal to hunt the tiger but this does not stop them.  China is a large consumer of tiger parts, as well as Taiwan and South Korea and even in some North American cities.

Most of the remaining Sumatran tigers now live in five National Parks, two Game Reserves, though around 100 live in an unprotected area that will most likely be lost to agriculture in the near future.

Sumatra Tiger

 

2.      The Bengal Tiger – Panthera Tigris Tigris

This tiger is found in India and Bangladesh and also in Nepal, Bhutan and Burma.  They are also called the Royal Bengal Tiger.  They are the most common subspecies of the tiger and are the second largest of the remanding subspecies of tigers.  There orange coat can black or brown stripes.  Each cat has their own unique striping patterns.

Bengal tigers hunt medium and large sized animals, wild boar, badges and water buffaloes.  Their prey can also be small elephants and rhino calves.  The tiger can drag prey 5 times their own body weight.  The tiger hunts mostly at night, and they kill their prey by severing the spinal cord or by inflicting a suffocation bite, which is generally done on larger prey.  Habit loss and poaching are threats to the survival of this tiger.  They are not only killed for their skin but for their body parts which is used to make traditional Asian medicines.

Bengal Tiger

 

White Bengal Tiger has a striking white coat.  This is caused by a double recessive allele in its genetic makeup and this only occurs once in every 10,000 births.

White Bengal Tigers

 

3.      The Indochinese Tiger – Panthera Tigris Corbetti

            This tiger is found in Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Thailand.  They are also called

            the Corbett’sTiger.  They have the darker shade of orange than any other subspecies of

            tigers.  The stripes act to help camouflage the tigers from their prey.  There are an estimated

            number of 1500 of these tigers left in the wild but because the tiger has a wide range some

            scientist believe that there could be only as few as 1200 left in the wild.  The tiger diet consist

            most of wild pig, wild cattle and wild deer.  The male tiger is about 8 to 9.5 feet long (2.43 to

            2.89 meters) and females are 7 to 8.5 feet long (2.13 to 2.5 meters).  The male weigh from

            330 to about 430 pounds (149 to 195 kilograms).  Habit close is also a bit concern, plus

            poaching.  Use of body parts in traditional medicines also put this tiger at risk.

Indochinese Tiger

 

4.        The Malayan Tiger – Panthera Tigris Jacksoni

               This tiger is a separate subspecies of the Indochinese tiger.  The Malayan tiger is very

               similar to the Indochinese tiger but it is smaller in size.  They are found exclusively the in the

               Subtropical forest in the southern tip of Thailand, and the peninsular Malaysia in

               South East Asia.

 

Malayan Tiger

5        The Siberian Tiger – Panthera Tigris Altaica

They are the largest of the subspecies of tiger.  They are also called amur tiger.  There are about 350 to 450 in the wild.  They are     found in the Primosky and Khabarovski Krais areas of the Russian Far East, with a smaller population of about 35 individuals are found in the areas of the Russian Far East.

The tiger does not have strips on its forelegs like the sumatran tiger.  The tiger can weigh up to 660 pounds (300 kilograms).  The males can grow up to more than 10.5 feet (3.3 meters) from head to tail.  The same threats exist for these tigers, habit loss, poaching and body parts used for medicinal purpose.

Saberian Tiger

 

The cross between the Bengal and Siberian tiger has a paler orange fur than other tiger subspecies.  They have brown stipes instead of black stripes.  The fur is much thicker than that of any other tigers living in southern Asia to help them with the cold winters.

cross between the bental and siberian tale is paler orange (right)

 

6.      South China Tiger – Panthera Tigris Amoyensis

             These tigers are found in central and eastern China.  In 1970’s these tigers were

             considered as pest by the Chinese government and hunted to the brink of extinction.  They

             are on the critical endangered list and are nearly extinct.  There are about 47 tigers living in

             18 zoos in China.  There are no tigers left in the wild.  The tiger has a yellowish fur with 

             narrower and longer stripes than those of the Bengal tiger.  The male is bigger than the  

             female and is between 7.58 to 8.666 feet (2.310 to 2.64 meters) long.  The female is 7.25

             to 7.83 feet (2.21 to 2.38 meters) long.  The male weighs 287 to 386 pounds (130 to

             175 kilograms).  The female weighs 243 to 254 pounds (110 to 115 kilograms).  The tiger

             was known to attack man and cattle for invading its natural habitat.  The tiger could

             consume between 39 to 88 pounds in a single setting (18 to 40 kilograms).   The male

             tiger does not  mix with the female tigers, only when it is in the breeding season.  The tiger

             reaches maturity between 3 to 6 years.  The gestation period is 103 days.  The female tiger

             can deliver up to 7 cubs but the usual is 2 or 3 only.  The mother breast feed their cubs for 8 

             months and at the age of 2 months they start eating solid food and leave the den.   

             Between the age of 18 and 36 months, they are ready to hunt and become independent.

The future for these tigers does not look promising and it looks like they will be the next tiger to become extinct. Attempts are being made with breeding programs and so far they have been successful but a lot of work still needs to be done.

 

south china tiger

 

Extinct Tigers

 

1.        The Bali Tiger – Panthera Tigris Balica.

               This tiger used to be found only on the Bali Island in Indonesia.  It was the smallest tiger of 

               the tiger subspecies. The females could weigh as little as 14 pounds (75 kilograms) and

               the males could reach around 200 to 220 pounds (90 to 100 kilograms).  The Bali tiger

               reached extinction through hunting.  Bali tigers had darker, shorter fur than any other t

               tiger subspecies.  The tiger had a bar-shaped pattern on its head.  They had a lifespan

               roughly of 8 to 10 years in the wild.

 

bali tiger

2.        The Caspian Tiger – Panthera Tigris Virgata.

               This tiger was caller the Hyrcanian Tiger, Persian Tiger and even the Turan Tiger.  These

               tigers was lived around the Caspian Sea, through Turkey, Iran and Central Asia to the

               the Chinese desert of Xinjiang.  They were some of the biggest of the tiger subspecies, 

               together with the Bengal tiger.  Males usually exceeded 6.56 feet (2 meters) in length. 

               The tiger had a brighter golden coat, with brown-gold stripes.  In winter the coat would

               become less bright and the pattern would not be so pronounced.  The stripes were  

               narrower and closer together than any of the other tiger subspecies.  When the Russians 

               came to Turkey in the late 1800s, they hunted the Caspian Tiger.   They also hunted the 

               natural prey of the tiger so many of the tigers would die from starvation.  In the 1990s it 

               was believed the last of these tigers died, but nobody seemed to have interest in those

               days, so it was never investigated or confirmed.

 

caspian tiger

3        The Java Tiger – Panthera Tigris Sondaica

These tigers were found exclusively on the island of Java.  The male tigers were very small, about 250 pounds (115 kilograms) and the females were even smaller.  Their noses were         long and narrow.  Their stripes were also narrow.

 In 1947 these tigers were protected but it came too late.  It was in the 1970s that this tiger came extinct.  It was believed that the tigers were poisoned by the locals who wanted to protect themselves, and of cause hunted for financial gains.  They also faced starvation and their prey was being killed to the point of extinction.

java tiger

Banana Plants

Bananas have been in our diet for many years and there are references going back to around 500BC.

100 billion bananas are eating around the world and 51% of these are eaten at breakfast.  Bananas are the most popular fruit in the world.  Some horticulturists believe that the banana was the first fruit on earth.  There are 1000 different varieties of banana growing around the world which is subdivided into 50 groups.  The Cavendish banana is the most common banana that is exported worldwide. 

leaves of banana plant

The banana plant is a large perennial herb with leaf sheaths that form trunk-like pseudostems.  The plant has 8 to 12 leaves that can grow to 9 feet long 2 feet wide. 

root system of banana plant

The development of roots in loose soil can be up to 30 feet laterally.

pseudostem

The pseudostems is the part of the banana plant that looks like a trunk. It is formed by the tightly packed overlapping leaf sheaths.  .  Each pseudostem produces only one banana cluster before dying.  New stalks are produced from the rhizome so the plants will continue to make more bananas for several years. 

rhizome

Rhizome, horizontal underground plant stem that is capable of producing the shoot and root systems of a new plant. Rhizomes store starches and proteins and enable plants to survive underground during unfavourable seasons.



the inflorescence

 

The Flower first appears on the mother tree, the first tree roughly 9 to 12 months after first planting.

 

 

The inflorescence (flower stalk) grows through the centre of the pseudostems. Flowers develop in clusters and spiral around the main axis. In most cultivars, the female flowers are followed by a few "hands" of neuter flowers that have aborted ovaries and stamens. The neuter flowers are followed at the terminal ends by male flowers enclosed in bracts. The male flowers have functional stamens  but aborted ovaries.

Fruits mature in about 60 - 90 days after flowers first appear. Each bunch of fruits consists of variable numbers of "hands" along a central stem. Each "hand" consists of two transverse rows of fruits ("fingers").

The fruit quality is determined by size (finger length and thickness), evenness of ripening, freedom from blemishes and defects, and the arrangement of the clusters.

Mature bananas are 2.5 to 12 inches in length and 0.75 to inches in width.  Banana peels can be red, yellow, or green or another colour depending on the type of banana plan.  The flesh of the banana can be white to yellow in colour.  The texture of the banana is firm and gradually turns tenderer as it ripens.

The yellow banana is called Cavendish banana and originated from China and Vietnam.  This banana was named after the man who obtained the specimen of this plant., the sixth Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish.  Other names for this banana is canary banana and Chinese banana.

Red bananas are smaller in size than a common banana and the peel is a deep red or purple. It has a creamy white to pink flesh, with a slight raspberry-banana flavour. The overall taste is similar to a common yellow banana. They are imported from Costa Rica and are a favourite in Central America.

Blue Java Banana are blue in colour.  They have large burgundy flowers that make the trio of colours.

Its a beautiful tree and must be seen to believe.

Pink velvet bananas measure 3 inches long and they have seeds.  The plant grows 6 feet in height and flowers just after a year.  This banana is eatable.  The banana is sweet tasting.  When the banana is ripe it peels itself.

The purple banana plant is an ornamental plant.

Some Interesting facts about bananas

• The scientific name for banana is 'musa sapientum' which translates as 'fruit of the wise man'
• The word banana comes from the Arabic word "banan", meaning finger
• The banana plant is not a tree, it is the world's largest herb
• The "trunk" of a banana plant is not made of wood, it is made of tightly overlapping leaves
• Bananas could help you to feel happier, as they contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to promote relaxation and improve mood
• The inside of a banana skin can be used to calm an itchy mosquito bite - many people find that rubbing the bite with the skin helps to reduce irritation
• A medium-sized banana contains only 95 calories, and provides a quick-but-sustained energy boost in a natural, nutritious and easily digestible form with no fat, cholesterol or sodium
• British Banana supplier, Fyffes, received its first consignment of bananas 124 years ago, in September 1888
• A stem of bananas consists of “hands”, which consist of 10 to 20 bananas.  When a hand is split, the bananas become “clusters”, which generally consist of between three to eight bananas
• The inside of a banana skin can be used to polish shoes!