Published: 13 February, 2008, 06:45
Edited: 13 February, 2008, 06:45
An animal trainer from the city of Ekaterinburg has found an unusual way to contribute to the city's diversity. He's raising a tiger cub in his city flat! The animal – which is half lion and half tiger – is proving to be an entertain
Lyra is the love child of a lion and a tigress. She lives in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, in the Ural mountains.
Her owner Pavel Zabelkin is a second-generation animal trainer. He bought Lyra from a traveling zoo and is sure she'll be a star of the family show.
“We're going to have an entirely new performance, and we're training her for it. she already understands several basic commands, like 'sit' and 'roll over',” Zabelkin says.
Lyra's first performance is still several months away. After all, she's still a cub, demanding undivided attention and plenty of play time.
“She cries when we leave the room. So we have to eat, sleep and basically live here with her,” Zabelkin admits.
Lyra sleeps in a cage, but she's is eager to get out. A high-energy animal, she enjoys a stroll outside, with a good roll in the snow, too – on a sturdy leash, of course.
Her appearance created a buzz in Zabelkin's apartment block. There were fears the neighbours wouldn't be too keen on living next door to a liger. But most don't seem to mind, as long as the animal isn't walking around on its own.
But Lyra's playfulness and curiousity have led to issues with dog owners.
“She wants to play, but she's much bigger and stronger than the dogs. Yesterday, we had a run-in with a poodle. She hit him with her paw – without claws, and didn't hurt him but she's much heavier than most dogs,” Zabelkin adds.
Largest cats in the world
Ligers have been known to exist since the XIX century. Usually they're born in captivity, and are usually results of an accidental romance.
They're the largest cats in the world – a liger named Hercules from Miami weighs about half a tonne.
At the age of 3 months, Lyra weighs 25 kilograms. Unlike lions, ligers enjoy swimming – a trait they inherit from their tiger mothers.