anome said:A Muscovy duck is actually a species of goose, I believe.
Liger cubs nursed by dog in China's Xixiakou Zoo
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13520472
Two liger cubs - a cross between a male lion and a female tiger - are being nursed by a dog at a zoo in Weihai, eastern China.
Four cubs were born at the Xixiakou Wildlife Zoo earlier this month but only two survived.
The mother stopped feeding the cubs after a few days so the dog, which had recently had its own puppies, was enlisted to help.
Ligers are extremely rare and are thought to only be born in captivity.
Zoo spokesman Cong Wen said it was not clear why the tiger had stopped feeding her cubs, the Associated Press reports.
But she said that after some initial problems, the pair were feeding well from their canine stepmother.
Although they are a different species, tigers and lions are of the same genus so are able to breed together.
Ligers are the largest known cat, usually growing much larger than either parent.
Ewe you won't believe your eyes... Irish farmer proud owner of half-goat half-sheep 'geep'
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ew ... 52258.html
Kildare pub owner and sheep farmer Paddy Murphy is now in fact the proud owner of a ‘geep’, a half-goat half-sheep hybrid. (Photo: Paddy Murphy/Independent.ie)
DENISE CALNAN – PUBLISHED 03 APRIL 2014 01:23 PM
Paddy Murphy thought it was a sign of good luck – to have a black lamb among white.
But it turns out the Kildare pub owner and sheep farmer is now in fact the proud owner of a ‘geep’, a half-goat, half-sheep.
“They were all normal lambs except this fella,” he told independent.ie
“He was born about midnight and I noticed it was black for a start, but it was very fast to move. It was too fast for a lamb.
“It also has much longer legs than a lamb, it was then I realised it must be a geep.”
Paddy, who owns Murphy’s pub in Ballymore Eustace, said the unusual looking lamb, which also has horns, has caused a bit of a stir in the local area.
I'd never heard of a jumart. This is interesting, as equines and oxes are in different orders. I remain unconvinced, but there seems a lot of anecdotal evidence for now.Article exploring the existence (or nonexistence) of jumarts - alleged hybrids produced by crossing cattle (Bos taurus) with either horses (Equus caballus) or donkeys (Equus asinus).
Warning, article contains explicit videos of inter-species sex!
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http://www.macroevolution.net/jumarts.html
I'd never heard of a jumart. This is interesting, as equines and oxes are in different orders. I remain unconvinced, but there seems a lot of anecdotal evidence for now.
And yet, my whole being is screaming at me, 'Nooo!' Horses may seem like big, hornless, athletic cows to us, but of course they're more closely related to rhinos than to bovines. But the evidence, anecdotal as it currently is, warrants further research, especially as there are specimens available for DNA analysis. This doesn't seem like a mystery that need remain in the realm of speculation, if the will exists to examine it scientifically.I was highly sceptical too, but the evidence provided does seem reasonably solid.
The conclusion that the jumart is possible but exceedingly rare, due to the low chances of a successful conception and the offspring of a bull and mare being carried to term, does not sound unreasonable.
DNA?Alleged moose-horse hybrid in Quebec.
"On May 5th, 2006, at Saint-Jogues, Quebec, a community about 20 kilometers north of the coastal town of Paspébiac, a mare foaled a colt (pictured below) that its owner, François Larocque, insisted was the result a mating with a bull moose.
Larocque claimed the mare in question had no access to a fertile stallion during the time that she would have had to conceive. He also pointed out that her offspring had unusually long legs, long woolly ears, a muzzle that curved downward (as in a moose), and two bumps on its head at the points where antlers might be expected to emerge. So most of the similarity to moose in this animal seems to be from the neck up. As Larocque later told the newspaper Le Soleil: “When the mare gave birth, my sisters said: ‘It has a moose head.’
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Female Moose, for comparison
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http://www.macroevolution.net/moose-horse-hybrids.html
Horses are perissodactyls, odd toed ungulates, a group that include horses, rhinos and tapirs. Moose are a type of artiodactyls, even toes ungulates that include deer, antelopes, pigs, hippos, giraffes, camels, sheep, goats and cattle. The two are not closely related enough to breed.Alleged moose-horse hybrid in Quebec.
"On May 5th, 2006, at Saint-Jogues, Quebec, a community about 20 kilometers north of the coastal town of Paspébiac, a mare foaled a colt (pictured below) that its owner, François Larocque, insisted was the result a mating with a bull moose.
Larocque claimed the mare in question had no access to a fertile stallion during the time that she would have had to conceive. He also pointed out that her offspring had unusually long legs, long woolly ears, a muzzle that curved downward (as in a moose), and two bumps on its head at the points where antlers might be expected to emerge. So most of the similarity to moose in this animal seems to be from the neck up. As Larocque later told the newspaper Le Soleil: “When the mare gave birth, my sisters said: ‘It has a moose head.’
View attachment 58252
Female Moose, for comparison
View attachment 58253
http://www.macroevolution.net/moose-horse-hybrids.html
As you say interesting but I'd guess armour. Alexander wore a ram's horn helmet as he believed himself the son of Ammon and as he was nicer to Bucephalus than he was to most of his commanders I'd guess he dressed him up as well.Did Alexander the Great ride a Jumart?
The famous military commander's warhorse was described as a huge, muscular beast. It was named Bucephalus, meaning ox-headed.
The reason for this is usually stated that it bore an oxen brand.
Interestingly though, ancient depictions of Bucephalus show it as having bovine-like horns. Obviously, these may be armour accoutrements, but interesting nonetheless.
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