#lipards

[c4n1ne]

A lipard (Panthera leo x Panthera pardus), the hybrid offspring of a male lion and a female leopardess.

Mr Franco Stenta of Barberino Mugello owned a number of tame big captive-born big cats: 2 male lions, 2 male tigers, 1 tiger cub and a leopardess. These had been acquired from Rome Zoo and were tame to the point of being domesticated. One lion (Panthera leo) named Puff, the leopardess (Panthera pardus) named Miccia, and the tiger cub were housed in cages in the courtyard of the Stenta family's paper factory in Florence. The owner did not expect or intend them to breed. The (Panthera leo x Panthera pardus) hybrid “lipard” (often called a "leopon" or "reverse leopon") came as a complete surprise to the owner and at first he mistook it for a domestic cat, which he thought had slipped into the cage.

The father of the hybrid was a 2 year old, 250 kilogram lion; he was 1.08 meters tall at the shoulders and 1.8 meters long (excluding his tail). The mother was a 3.5 year old leopardess, weighing only 38 kilograms. The female cub was born overnight on the 26th-27th of August, 1982. Its estimated birth-weight was similar to that of a leopard cub, and the estimated gestation period was 92-93 days. 

Miccia was initially a good mother, but began to over-groom the cub, biting off its tail when it was 2 days old. From then on, the cub was left alone with its mother only while nursing. After 2 weeks, it was hand-reared. At 5 months old, it weighed 13-14 kilograms and was one third the size of its mother. It had the body conformation and large head of a lion cub, but the receding forehead of a leopard, with fawn fur and thick but faded spotting.

[mx-corvidae]

What's Going on Here?

While out walking on her own, Dumi, a member of the Mlima pride, stumbles upon a blonde cub. He's a bit of a puzzle, hints of a mane sprouted from his head and yet he also had a set of spots on him. Maybe that's why he was caught in the middle of climbing a tree.  For Quent, this is his first encounter with a member of Mlima and it turns out to be a rather found memory later on in his life.  Art for Mlima Rp Group  Dumi belongs to Gloomystreets  Quent belongs to Me (Mz.Corvidae) 

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