A leopon (pronounced: "LEP-ən") is that the hybrid made by a sexual union between a king of beasts and a leopard. The hybrid made from the interbreeding (lion x leopardess) is termed a lipard (pronounced: "LIP-erd").
Many leopons are bred in captivity. Best identified square measure those born at Koshien Hanshin Park in Nishinomiya, Japan within the late fifties and early sixties, one in every of that survived quite twenty years. this is often longer than would be usual for a leopard (maximum recorded era in captivity twenty three years) or a lion, that has a mean captive anticipation of thirteen years.
leopon
Lioness x Leopard
Leopard
Leopard (Panthera pardus)
One of the fascinating facts regarding leopons is that, not like lions, they are smart climbers. They conjointly fancy water, which regularly distresses their king of beasts mothers. Leopons square measure nearly the dimensions of a lion, with stout bodies, however their legs square measure shorter, sort of a leopard's. they need brown spots, paler than the leopard's black spots, and tufted tails, sort of a lion. the bottom color is pale scarlet yellow. Mature males have thin manes regarding eight inches (20 cm) long.
Although the leopard and lion acquire contact in Sub-Saharan Africa, it's wide believed that a leopon couldn't occur Associate in Nursing exceedingly|in a very} state of nature as a result of a leopard would be unable to mate with an unsedated king of beasts. however several according hybrids of this kind were the results of unplanned crosses in captivity. Interior Department and Reynolds (1967) say a king of beasts volitionally and frequently lay on her facet for a leopard to mount (the combine in question were raised together).
There square measure anecdotal reports of natural hybrids, called marozis, from Cameroon, Central African Republic, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Apparently, the sole solid proof of hybridisation occurring within the wild may be a skin (and doable skull) within the British repository of explanation, shot in 1931 in Kenya's Aberdare Mountains (this pelt is delineate thoroughly in Note four below).
As to the interbreeding, lexicographer (1983) reports a case of a lipard, occurring in European nation. during this specific case there was an outsized distinction within the sizes of the fogeys. The lion father weighed 550 pounds (250 kg), whereas the leopard mother weighed a mere eighty four pounds (38 kg). sadly for the ma, the lion tried to mate at each chance
