Jaglion, a Rare Cross Between a Jaguar and Lion: Fact Check

Story:

A Jaglion, a Rare Cross between a Male Jaguar and a Female Lion.

Other Versions

Rare cross between a lion and jaguar. Called a liguar

Fact Check:

The photograph appears popularly online purporting to show a Rare Cross between a Jaguar and a Lion. While some call the unusual black cat a Jaglion as a cross between a Male Jaguar and a Female Lion, others call it a Liguar, a cross between a lion and jaguar. The black cat creature appears so dark in photograph, viewers thought it is not real and a Photoshop creation. The photograph is real – it in fact shows a Melanistic Jaglion, a rare cross between a Male Jaguar and a Female Lion (Lioness).

Jaglion, Cross Between Male Jaguar & Female Lion

A Panthera hybrid is a crossbreed between any of four species – Tiger, Lion, Jaguar and Leopard – in captivity. They are rare because most of the hybrids do not exist long in the wild as males are usually infertile. The names of the hybrid species vary depending upon the type of crossbreed among the four species.

A Liguar is an offspring of a male Lion and a female Jaguar. On the other hand, a Jaglion or Jaguon is the offspring between a male Jaguar and a female Lion (lioness). A similar story in past showed Leopon, a cross between a Leopard and a Lion.

Coming to the photograph in question, the Jaglion is real and not Photoshopped. On 9th April 2006, two Jaglion babies Jahzara (female) and Tsunami (male) were born at Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary in Ontario, Canada. It happened after a black Jaguar called Diablo and the lioness Lola mated unexpectedly. Jahzara, the female Jaglion inherited her dad’s dominant melanism gene.

Both Jahzara and Tsunami turned 7 years old in April of 2013. On their 10th birthday in 2016, Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary shared a small video of Jahzara on their Facebook page.

Hoax or Fact:

Fact with some misinformation.