#leopons

[antiqueanimals]

The Big Cats. Written by Herbert S. Zim. Illustrated by Dorothea Barlowe. 1976.

[c4n1ne]

A leopon (Panthera leo x Panthera pardus), the hybrid offspring of a male leopard (Panthera pardus) and a female lioness (Panthera leo).

[c4n1ne]

The pelt of a “Leopon” (Panthera pardus x Panthera leo), the hybrid offspring of a male leopard (Panthera pardus) and a Lioness (Panthera leo).

In 1912, R. I. Peacock described this skin with the following:

“I am greatly indebted... to Mr W S Millard, the Honorary Secretary of the Bombay Natural History Society, for sending me a skin of a specimen, which was bred in the gardens at Kolhapur between a male panther i.e. a large leopard and a lioness. There were two cubs in the litter. One, whose skin is here figured, died when about two and a half months old, whereas the other, now about two years old is, I believe, still living.

“At first sight this skin recalls that of the leopard in being covered with spots; but those on the side of the body are much smaller and closer set than in typical Indian leopards, and also browner and altogether less distinct, as if beginning to disappear with age, as is the case with lions. On the head, down the spine, on the belly and the legs, they are however quite black and distinct. The tail is very confusedly spotted above, but striped below, and has a blackish tip covered with longer hairs. Another leonine feature is the dirty white - rather than clear white - tint of the underside, while the ears are fawn with a broad, black bar, but are without the white spot seen in leopards.”

[c4n1ne]

At Koshien Hanshin Park in Nishinomiya City, Japan, Sonoko the lioness (Panthera leo) was mated to a male leopard (Panthera pardus) named Kaneo. A litter of 2 hybrid “Leopon” (Panthera leo x Panthera pardus) cubs was born in 1959, and 3 more (Johnny, Daisy and Cherry) were born in 1962. Unlike male leopards in the wild, the normally solitary Kaneo remained with the "pride” after the birth of the cubs.

In terms of size, the leopons take after their lioness mother and are larger than leopards. They have stout, lion-like bodies and shorter, leopard-like legs. They have brown (rather than black) spots and tufted tails. They climb like leopards and seem to enjoy water like leopards (oddly enough, the Japanese leopons were born to a water-loving lioness and a leopard that did not seem to like water).

When mature, the males had sparse manes about 20 cm long. Females were torn between the solitary nature of the leopard and the social nature of a lioness. Some of the photos show the cats as being extremely overweight, possibly due to a lack of testosterone; predisposing them to lay down fat instead of muscle (life in relatively small cages did not help matters). The hybrids proved to be sterile and the last one died in 1985.

[pen2print]

Animals all over the world are known to exhibit unnatural behaviors in a typical zoo environment. The pairings which very little off chance of happening in the wild or a natural environment can surely be imagined happening in a zoo. One such pairing is between a lioness and a leopard. In the wild, they both use different mating techniques and would be unlikely to find themselves in a position of compatibility. However, factors change when talking about the same animals in the confined environment of a zoo. They have been successfully bred in captivity to produce a hybrid known as a leopon.

Leopons have been bred in zoos in India, Japan, and Germany. Originally bred for the leopard fur, the hybrid offspring proved to be very sterile. The last of the leopons in India died in 1985, but the British Museum of Natural History still has the leopon skin and skull from an animal bred at the Kolhapur Zoo, India in 1910.

The most successful leopon program was in Nishinomiya City in Japan. Here a lioness named Sonoko was mated to a leopard called Kaneo, both born in 1955 in the Koshien Hanshin Park. The first litter of two leopon cubs was born in 1959 after a gestation period of 97 days. This is an intermediate between the gestation period of a leopard (90 – 95 days) and a lion (105 – 110 days). Usually, in captivity, the big cat males are known to show social behavior and the same happened with Kaneo when he remained with the family after the birth. After this, the couple had three more cubs in 1962.

Leopons are larger in size than leopards and have the combined features of the parents, that is, a lion and a leopard. They have a lion’s stout body while the rest of the appearance resembles a fuzzy leopard with spots and shorter legs. Instead of the classic black spots of a leopard, they have paler brown spots and a reddish-yellow skin. Their tails are tufted like that of a lion while they love to climb trees and play in the water, much like leopards. This distresses the lioness mother as lions are known to hate water. On maturing, the males have a small and sparse mane about 20 centimeters long while the females deal with an internal conflict of having to choose between the solitary lifestyle of a leopard and the social nature of a lioness. Their lifespan is about 20 years, which is more than that of a leopard (12 – 17 years) and that of a lion (10 – 14 years). The lioness mother, leopard father, and leopon offspring were taxidermized and are still on display.

Even though it is very unlikely for such hybrids to occur in a natural state, there still are reports suggesting otherwise. Such a natural hybrid is called a Marozi. As for the case of a reciprocal cross between a male lion and a female leopard, the hybrid is known as a lipard and was last found in Italy.

Image COurtesy: GOOGLE

Leopons: Hybrids Between Leopards and Lions Animals all over the world are known to exhibit unnatural behaviors in a typical zoo environment. The pairings which very little off chance of happening in the wild or a natural environment can surely be imagined happening in a zoo.

[stardrifterz]

and had a leopon born! still waiting for the king I sent a request to stud to my other leopon girl, but today’s been awesome!!!!

[cakenap]

Mix of a Lion & Leopard.

Lions have been known to breed with tigers to create

hybrids called ligers & tiglons. They also have been crossed

with leopards to produce leopons