Despite being quite different, it isn’t uncommon for a lion to fall in love with a tigress. In fact, some zoos specially breed them so that they can mate and have ligers. The reason why zoos are doing this is that ligers are a sight to behold and they bring many visitors. However, things weren’t going that well for Cameron (the lion) and Zabu (the tigress) as you will soon find out.
20. Cameron and Zabu
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Cameron is the king of the jungle and Zabu is a Siberian-Bengal hybrid tigress. Even though they both look happy in this picture, things are not going too well for them. Zabu has been born with genetic flaws and Cameron is 200 pounds underweight! Let’s see what’s damaging their health.
19. Genetic Flaws
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These two felines were bred at the zoo of New England in 2000. The only reason why this happened was so that they can give birth to amazing ligers. However, being bred at the zoo has caused them to have genetic flaws which are affecting their well being. Although, this is not uncommon for white tigers and you won’t believe why.
18. Rare White Tigers
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In case you didn’t know, white tigers are extremely rare and females are nearly impossible to find in nature. Therefore, most of the white tigers we see in zoos are inbred. This is why genetic flaws are a common thing. You will be shocked to find out what genetic flaw Zabu has.
17. Inbred Tiger
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As previously mentioned, all white tigers that are owned by zoos are inbred. The only way for zoos to get their hands on them is to breed brother and sister or father and daughter until a white tiger is born. This is cruel and it shows us that zoos are not always good. Keep reading to see what Zabu is suffering from.
16. Lifted Upper Lip
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The biggest issues that Zabu has is that her upper lip is lifted. This is a serious problem because it makes it hard for her to protect her teeth. Sadly, that’s not the only genetic issue that Zabu has…
15. Cross-Eyed
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The gene that causes Zabu to have a white mane is affecting her optic nerve. Therefore, Zabu is cross-eyed. This is making life hard for her since she is not able to take care of her needs. On the other hand, though, Cameron is not having it easy either.
14. A New Adventure
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Even though Cameron is the king of the jungle, he is underweight by 200 pounds. This is quite a lot, and his genetic flaws don’t make it easy for him to get bigger. On the bright side of things, the two love spending time with each other. Here’s how their adventure began! It’s unbelievable…
13. Captives
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Cameron and Zabu have been with the zoo for 4 years now. Even though they both have their fair share of issues, they still love spending time together. They don’t have anyone else and there’s nothing else for them to do. But there’s something truly special about their relationship that you need to know about.
12. Selling Ligers
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Ligers are super rare and obviously, they bring thousands of visitors to the zoo. However, this is not the real reason why zoos breed them. They do it in order to sell them and you will be shocked how they can do that… As you’re about to find out, this trend has also affected these two best friends.
11. The Largest Cat Hybrids
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There are laws which forbid people from purchasing tigers and lions. However, there are no laws against purchasing hybrid animals and ligers are the largest cat hybrids. This is as cruel as it can get and fortunately for Cameron and Zabu, the right people heard about them. Then, something amazing happened!
10. The Big Cat Rescue
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The Big Cat Rescue is a non-profit organization that raises money to save large felines from zoos. Cameron and Zabu needed help and the folks at Big Cat Rescue started raising money as soon as they heard of them.
9. Helping Cameron and Zabu
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Seeing how Cameron and Zabu were forcefully bred together and how they were put up for display, the people who work at Big Cat Rescue knew that they needed to save them. Another reason why the Big Cat Rescue folks were so determined to help Cameron and Zabu is that they knew their baby ligers would be sold off to the highest bidder.
8. Saving Cameron and Zabu
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Fortunately, the Big Cat Rescue didn’t waste any time and took Cameron and Zabu in. To make things even better, they decided to keep these two together since they got used to each other.
7. New Home
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Cameron and Zabu were finally in a place where they felt like they belonged to. The best thing about this is that their enclosure was larger than before and they finally felt free to play all day long. Check out the next picture to see how these two adorable felines spend their time.
6. Relaxing Together
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The folks who work at Big Cat Rescue are saying that Cameron and Zabu are always together and that they love to relax under the sun. That’s not all that Cameron and Zabu love to do in their new home!
5. Running Around
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Since their new home is so much larger than the cage at the zoo, Cameron and Zabu love to run around all day long. This is not only helping their mood to get better but also their health! Check out what the people who take care of them have to say about their health.
4. Good Health
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Cameron was finally feeling better and he started gaining weight. Even though he stopped being overweight, things were not all good for him. The folks at the Big Cat Rescue had a tough decision to make. They didn’t want Cameron and Zabu to breed and make Ligers because they were afraid of further genetic flaws. This is the decision they had to make…
3. Neutering Cameron
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The only way for the Big Cat Rescue to let Cameron and Zabu together was to neuter Cameron. The worst thing about this was that lions lose their mane after being neutered. However, it was pretty clear that Cameron wanted to stay with Zabu and they decided to take a risk. How do you think Cameron reacted to losing his mane?
2. No Mane
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Weeks after being neutered, Cameron started losing his mane. Luckily, this didn’t seem to bother him at all. He was happier than ever and the fact that he was finally gaining weight was showing that.
1. Happy Couple
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It’s great seeing that Cameron and Zabu were lucky enough to be saved by the Big Cat Rescue but sadly, not all inbred lions and tigers have the same luck. Let’s hope zoos stop inbreeding them for profits because their genetic flaws pose serious life-threatening issues to their health.