Liger triplets were born to Bengal tigress, Beauty, and an African lion, Simba. Only two of the cubs survived, becoming Taiwan's first ligers.
Ligers are a hybrid cross between a male lion and a tigress and are the largest of all known cats. Napoleon Dynamite, a quirky teenager from the 2004 film, believed ligers were bred "for its skills in magic."
Hmmm.
But some animal rights groups have criticized the zoo's owner for illegally crossbreeding two different species of protected animals.
"Cross-breeding two protected species is completely against nature. We are urging the Council of Agriculture (COA) to seize the two cubs immediately and bring Huang to real justice. A fine of NT$50,000 [around $1,500] is a mere slap on the wrist, " Lin Tai-jing, a researcher for Environmental and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) told the Taiwan News.
Huang Kuo-nan, owner of the World Snake King Education Farm in Tainan County, insists he did not mate the two animals on purpose.
"Usually when a lion and a tiger are kept together, they will for sure attack each other to death, but these two have been spending time together since they were small," Huang said.
Beauty and Simba have been mating for three years, but this was their first pregnancy.