why can't it be a lion?
why does it have to be a liger?
Liger is a cross bread Lion and tiger, in this species the Lion is the male who donated the sperm.
The opposite of the cross bread is a Tigon, where the Tiger is the sperm donor.
They're about twice the size of normal Lions and Tigers, but only live for a very short time outside of captivity due to the differences instincts from the two animal confuses them and affects its ability to survive.
Animal Planet is the shit.