- [Narrator] There are some
truly unique, beautiful, and astounding creatures on this planet. But humans looked at this
rich tapestry of creation and thought, "What if we just smooshed these animals together?" From monster-cows to wild wolfdogs, from solar-powered plant-slugs
to gross naked chickens, these are some of the
freakiest animal hybrids you won't believe exist. (upbeat music) Liger King. Lions have long been called
the Kings of the Jungle, but they're about to be
dethroned by a close relative. Introducing the liger, an absolute unit that's
the result of a male lion breeding with a female tiger. Ligers are humongous creatures and have been known to stand more than four feet at the shoulder, stretch as long as 12 feet, and weigh up to 1200 pounds! That's twice the size of a refrigerator, and as heavy as a grand piano! For contrast, a pure-bred
African lion on the larger side can grow to be 10 feet long and weigh up to 550 pounds. This easily makes the liger the biggest big cat in the world. Now, the liger's huge size comes down to a specific mix of genes it's
inherited from its parents. A male lion must compete
for breeding rights, so his genes promote
growth in his offspring to ensure they survive. Usually, the genes of a lioness
will inhibit this growth so that she can carry multiple offspring. But the genes of a tigress are geared towards producing singular offspring That means they can't inhibit
the male lion's growth genes in their offspring, leading
to one massive Liger! It's for this reason if you cross a male tiger with a
lioness, you get Tigons, which are much smaller and more aggressive than ligers. Sadly, because of this gene switch, ligers and tigons tend to
have a lot of health problems and don't usually survive through infancy. As lions and tigers have no naturally overlapping habitats, ligers and tigons only exist in captivity, and it's currently thought there are less than 100 in the world. Considering how huge and
aggressive these creatures can be, I'd say that's probably a good thing. Pizzly-Pooh Now you understand how
hybrid animals are named, you can probably guess
what a grolar bear is. Yep, the grolar bear is the
fierce-and-formidable mix of a grizzly bear and a polar bear, if the polar bear is the mother, that is. If the polar bear is the father, the creature is embarrassingly
called a pizzly bear. But whatever you call them, they're typically between
six-and-a-half and 10 feet long and can weigh anywhere
from 400 to 1500 pounds. For comparison, a grizzly bear typically reaches
6-and-a-half feet in length, while a polar bear can grow to about 10, meaning the grolar bear comfortably sits between them in size. Interestingly, the grolar
bear can carry children and give birth to healthy cubs. This is unusual, as most
hybrid species' mixed genes render them infertile. While the exact number of
grolar bears isn't known, they do exist in the wild
and sightings of them have become more common recently. This may be because,
unlike tigers and lions, grizzly and polar bear habitats overlap in the Arctic and Americas. This common ground has
been increasing with time as global warming impacts
the climate of the regions. It's been theorized that
this increasing overlap combined with the grolar bear's
ability to produce offspring may mean they're the future of bear-kind. This might be bad news for us though, as Grolars are apparently more aggressive and much braver than grizzlies. Oh boy, camping is about
to get real interesting. What do you think? Would you be sad to
see the two species go, or do you welcome our
new ursine overlords? Let me know in the comments below, and make sure to like and subscribe for more eye-opening content like this! Now, what have we got next? So far, we've had ligers,
tigons, and pizzlies. Oh my! Whatta Wholphin. So now you know that hulking hybrids walk the surface of the earth, I think it's only fair to let you know that the ocean isn't any safer. This bizarre creature is
known as the wholphin, and it's what happens when a
whale breeds with a dolphin. To be more specific, it's what happens when a false killer whale breeds with a bottlenose dolphin. Before you get too confused
as to how that might work, in 1985 a wholphin was born to false killer whale I'anui Kahei and dolphin mother Punahele
in the Honolulu Sea Life park. The calf was named Keikaimalu, which means from the peaceful ocean, though if you ask me, the resulting creature is
a little too creepy-looking for that name. Wholphin's are certainly
odd-looking creatures; their heads resemble false killer whales, however the fins and nose
are more dolphin-like. And those teeth are just
straight up unsettling! Their color is also a steely gray, which is an interesting halfway point between the coloration of their parents. Before Keikaimalu was born, park handlers couldn't imagine a romance blossoming between her parents. After all, I'anui Kahei was
14 feet long and 2000 pounds, whereas the mom was six feet
long and barely 400 pounds. That's what you get for underestimating the power of love, I guess! Keikaimalu grew up quickly,
and after just two years was larger than her mother. She's now fully grown
and gave birth to her own one-quarter-false-killer-whale-wholphin
calf in 2005. Though extremely rare, wholphins have been spotted in the wild, so the two species may have more in common than we first thought. Love certainly does find a way. Israeli Fried Goblins. There are many strange and
bizarre creatures on Earth, and while some of them might seem ugly, they're no less deserving
of life or respect. They can all elicit a sense of awe once you learn a little more about them. That is, unless they're
these things! (shudders) In my opinion, these suck and straight-up shouldn't exist. What you're looking at
right now is a pale red, featherless species of chicken that's been intentionally bred in Israel. The species was apparently created by interbreeding naturally
bare necked chickens with broiler chickens. So, what have these bizarre
little goblins been bred for? Well in the farming community, a naturally naked chicken saves workers from having to pluck the feathers
once they've been culled. Additionally, when you're
farming hundreds of fluffy birds that are all close together, they can generate a lot of heat It's not uncommon for chickens to overheat and even die in crowded farms. A chicken without feathers aims to solve both of those problems. If you think this is all a
little morbid, consider this. Someone bred a freakish species of bird just to make culling it easier and didn't even bother
giving it a proper name. Man, looks like humans
are the ugly ones here. Incredible Cows. In the world of cattle, there was a male steer who
really stood out from his herd and his name was, don't laugh, Knickers! At 6 ft 4 inches tall, and 2,800 pounds, this Holstein-Friesian steer was roughly the height of
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and weighed about 11 times as much! That's some big knickers. But despite this steer's gargantuan size, even he couldn't compete
with the man-made hybrid that is the Belgian Blue,
sometimes called a supercow. I can see why. This beastly bovine looks like it could give the man of
steel a run for his money. Now, supercows measure in at roughly five feet at the shoulder but can weigh more than 2800 pounds! That means, compared to Knickers, they're carrying much more body weight on a much smaller frame, making them look jacked as hell. The species was bred into existence in the latter half of the 19th century when domesticated Belgian cattle were bred with imported
British shorthorn bulls. It was found these cows were more likely to have a rare double
musculature characteristic, which they were then bred for. The trait was a boon for butchers, as a Belgian Blue yields
up to 80% more beef than that of a regular cow. Despite being such a useful creature for the farming industry, many claim the breeding
of supercows is unethical. This is because many of
the cows are so muscular, they have a hard time moving around and living comfortable lives. Belgian blue meat seems
too big for me anyway. I'm more of a grazer. Hungry like the Wolfdog. If you think your dog is a troublemaker, boy, be thankful you've never had to house train a wolfdog. As the name suggests, these
canines are the result of breeding wolves with
regular, domesticated dogs. Breeding is more likely to
be successful between wolves and dog breeds that are
already more wolf-like, such as huskies, German
shepherds, and malamutes. Wolfdogs don't occur
in the wild very often, as wolves are generally territorial and untrusting of creatures
outside their tight-knit packs. Wolfdogs themselves tend to be wilder and less predictable than regular dogs. This makes sense when you think about it. After all, dogs are just wolves humans have selectively
bred over centuries to be calmer and easier to control. By breeding one with a wolf, you're kinda just
undoing all the hard work we put into domesticating them! Wolfdogs can weigh up to 120 pounds and stand as tall as
three-feet at-the-shoulder. On-average this makes them
about as tall as wolves, if a bit leaner. Don't let that fool you, though. These semi-wild poochies have been known to jump over eight feet in a single bound! Their closeness to wolves also means they prefer a diet of raw meat mixed with grain-free kibble. Though some can be sweet and easy-going, their general
unpredictability and strength means you aren't advised
to get one as a pet. So, if you see one down at the pound, go for the chihuahua instead! Serval Options. We're going from wild
wolfdogs to curious cats with this next creature couple! A serval is an interesting kitty, being one of Africa's
lesser-known predator cats. Unlike big cats, however, the serval only stands
about two feet tall, weighs under 40 pounds,
and has a head that looks just a little too small for its body. At this size, the cat is small enough that some very troubled
breeders experimented with what it could mate with. This tawny tabby is a Savannah Cat and is the result of breeding a serval with a regular, everyday housecat. The slender savannah
cat is a little taller than your average moggy at about a foot-and-a-half tall, with the serval's distinct stripes and spots all over its fur. This distinctive appearance has made the savannah cat a popular pet, though it's reportedly
much more territorial and aggressive than regular cats. A savannah cat can pose a danger to both owners and other pets, and for these reasons
it's illegal to own one in certain US states
like Hawaii and Georgia. Servals have also been bred with caracals, which are noble-looking cats
found in India and Africa. Caracals are roughly the
same size as Servals, and even though their habitats do overlap, caraval or servical hybrids
are exceptionally rare, and have only ever been seen in captivity. However wild these crossbreeds
may sound, don't be fooled. They're still cats, through-and-through. The Living Lettuce. Remember when you were little and your mom would say,
"You are what you eat"? Well, that may not be true for us, but it certainly is for this little guy. Meet the green sea slug, or
the Eastern Emerald Elysia when it's trying to show off! This unassuming gastropod can be found all along the United States' eastern coast and can grow to be about
two-and-a-half inches long. So, what makes it a hybrid? Well, this greedy species has gobbled up so much algae over the centuries that it's developed the ability to produce its own chlorophyll, making it half slug, half plant! Chlorophyll is the
substance that allows plants to convert sunlight into energy, effectively making the green sea slug the world's first solar-powered slug, as well as the first
freaky plant-animal hybrid! It might help to think of the slug as more of a hybrid car
than a hybrid animal. Hybrid cars can run on a mixture of both gas and electricity, and the sea slug is the same way. Except instead of gas and electricity, the slug runs on food and solar power. That's pretty impressive. Maybe in another 20 years
it'll just run on batteries? Jeopardous Jaglions. Jaguars and lions are both
incredibly imposing felines. Lions are muscular monsters, with males typically
weighing around 420 pounds. While Jaguars are a little leaner at an average of 260 pounds, they're still the third-largest
big cat in the world, and are more devious and
sneaky hunters than the lion. Both cats are apex predators, meaning they're at the very top of their respective food chains. Lions can take down huge buffalo while Jaguars regularly
prey on ferocious caiman. Imagine the offspring these two terrible hunters would produce! Now imagine it in stealth mode. These two cats are Jahzara and Tsunami, and they're the offspring of lioness Lola and black jaguar Diablo
in Bear Creek Sanctuary. As lions primarily roam Africa and Jaguars mainly stalk the Amazon, they may be the only
Jaglions in the world. As you can tell, Jahzara has inherited his father's melanistic genes, meaning he has a higher-than-normal level of pigment producing cells
that make his fur jet black. Considering Jahzara takes
more after his jaguar father, he's likely more inclined
to be a night-time, stealth hunting machine like him. With his dark coloring and that
extra pinch of lion muscle, I'm certainly relieved
there aren't more predators like him stalking the jungle! Jahzara and Tsunami
still live in Bear Creek to this day with their parents, who are apparently inseparable. Can you imagine an argument
breaking out in that enclosure? And you thought your family was intense! Blacktip Terror. I'm willing to bet that
if you were out swimming in the ocean and saw a shark
fin poking out of the water, you'd be pretty scared. Well, I'm here to tell
you that if that shark fin has a little black tip at the top, you should be even more scared! The Australian blacktip
shark lives primarily in warmer climates like,
as its name suggests, the Australian coast, and can be identified by the
little black tips on its fins. The shark comes in at around 5.2 feet, and while a shark of any size is scary, comparatively speaking
that's not that big. Regular blacktip sharks, however, usually live over 1000
miles away from Australia. They grow to about 6.6 feet but have been known to grow
to as large as eight feet. Australians should be
pretty worried, then, that their comparatively
dinky blacktip sharks have been having hybrid
babies with the larger breed! A group of Australian
researchers identified not one, not two, but 57 hybridized blacktip sharks not far from the northern
Australian coast. It's theorized that, like the grolar bear, the hybrid blacktip might be the result of changing climates
and expanding habitats. This is especially worrying
as regular blacktips are known to bite humans. As if Australians didn't
have enough deadly animals to worry about, already! Oh Dog. Sometimes it's just impossible
to make a relationship work. Your personalities might clash, you might want different
things for the future, or one of you might be 22
times the size of the other. What? The next monstrosity we're about to meet is the Chi-Dane-Dane. If you've been paying
attention to naming conventions and know anything about dog breeds, I bet your eyes are widening right now! That's because the average Great Dane stands between 30 and 34 inches tall and can weigh up to 200 pounds. But a chihuahua tends to grow
between 6 and 9 inches tall and weighs just two to six pounds. Just look at these two next to each other! As with several previous examples, intrepid breeders are the
villains of this story, as they initially tried
to breed a male great Dane with a female chihuahua. Ouch. After this they attempted
artificial insemination, but the little chihuahua
just couldn't carry the massive baby to term. Eventually the breeders
came to their senses and a male chihuahua and
female great Dane mated. I can only assume a stepladder
was involved somehow, but eventually , for
god knows what reason, the Chi-Dane-Dane was born. Sometimes more respectfully
called the great Mexican dog, the resulting breed is strange; it has a long body and short, stubby legs, with a large head that's shaped
like that of a greyhound. The dogs are known to
be loyal and friendly, and typically grow to be
twice the size of a chihuahua, but still much smaller than a great Dane. Now, it's not a bad dog, but I think these breeders
were so pre-occupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should! Yai am Legend. In the movies, the mighty Godzilla is supposed to reside at
the bottom of the ocean. But from the look of this next creature, I think he might be on land. This is Yai, and he's one very special croc. Yai is the only known hybrid
crocodile in the world, his parents being a saltwater crocodile and a Siamese crocodile. But that's not the only record he holds. You see, Yai is a noticeably big boy. Just look at those
other crocs next to him! In the year 2000, the
Guinness World Records pronounced him the world's
largest crocodile in captivity, coming in at an overwhelming
19 feet 8 inches long and weighing over 2,645 pounds. That's as long as a giraffe is tall, and almost twice as heavy as an adult cow! Even scarier, Yai has
apparently grown since then, and by some accounts is now 21-feet long. Oftentimes, first-generation
hybrid animals can grow to be much larger than
either of their parents. This is a phenomenon known as hybrid vigor and may explain why Yai ended
up as massive as he did! It's amazing Yai has grown up to 21 feet. I mean, most crocodiles just have four. (imitates humorous drums) Yeah, I'll see myself out for that one. Mon-Pig? So far, the true hybrids we've looked at have had just two parents
of different species. This next animal, however,
is the work of humans dabbling in hybridization and using the results for their own gain. In 2019, scientists in China were able to successfully breed
a pig with monkey genes in a lab environment, essentially creating the
world's first monkey-pig. While the piglets looked perfectly normal, a small portion of their genes
came from cynomolgus monkeys, also known as crab-eating macaques. The goal of the hybrid
wasn't to create a pig that loves eating crabs, though! It was to further our
understanding of gene manipulation. The hope is that experiments like these will eventually allow scientists to grow human organs in animals
for transplant purposes. Unfortunately, we still
have a lot to learn as the two monkey-pigs sadly passed away within just one week of being born. But the experiment hadn't been in vain; the monkey DNA had been manipulated to produce a bright fluorescent protein so the cells could be easily observed in the pig's liver,
spleen, heart, and lungs. If you think this whole
thing sounds a little creepy, well, it's just the tip of the gene-berg. Pig-Man-Key? Question: what do monkeys, pigs, and people all have in common? Answer: they're all part of the All-You-Can-Splice Gene Buffet! The Salk Institute is an
international group of scientists that have been hard at work attempting to advance our understanding
of genetic manipulation. Their end goal is similar to those of the previously mentioned
Chinese scientists; to be able to one day grow human organs inside of animal donors. The Salk Institute, however,
skipped a few steps. Instead of beginning with
pigs carrying monkey DNA, they went straight to pigs with human DNA! Human cells were merged with a pig embryo which was carried by a pig
for three to four weeks. After this period, the embryo was removed so it could be studied in detail. Casting a wide net, the Salk Institute
undertook a similar study which involved placing human cells into the embryo of a
rhesus macaque monkey. This embryo was given
even less time to develop, between just one and two weeks. Technically these embryos
were chimeras and not hybrids, as the creatures were merely one species with another's DNA inside it, rather than a 50/50-split crossbreed. Mixing human and animal DNA
is extremely controversial and cannot be publicly funded in the US. Thus far, all funding has
come from private donors, presumably billionaires that want to make flying monkey minions a reality. The results of all these tests conclude that we have a long, long way to go before artificial organ
growth becomes a reality. In the pig/human embryo study, only about one in every
100,000 cells were human, which is 0.00001%! This means that right now, even if organs could be
grown in donor animals, they'd contain so little human DNA they'd be rejected by a human host. But in 2020 the most
non-human human so far was created in Japan. Researchers were able
to record a mouse embryo that contained 4% human cells, and while this is hugely impressive, the research still needs
a lot of time to develop. Uh, poor choice of words. Phew! That last bunch was pretty creepy. What do you think? Are human-animal chimeras
the way of the future? Are animal hybrids cool,
or a little disturbing? Let me know what you think
in the comments down below, and, as always, thanks for watching!
