Top 10 Hybrid Animals That Should NOT EXIST

Big cat hybrids are among the most well-known hybrid animals - given their sizes, they’re rather hard to miss. However, one of the more obscure is the jaglion, the result of a male jaguar and a female lion. Few examples of this pairing have occurred, so the average traits passed on remain speculative. But a pair of jaglions at the Bear Creek Sanctuary in Ontario, Canada were born in 2006. Both had spots and tufts on their tails like lions. The male, Tsunami, was maneless, and the female, Jahzara, inherited her jaguar father’s melanistic coat. Tsunami lived 16 long years, passing away in 2022.

Sheep and goats are common fixtures of farms the world over. However, while they can produce offspring, popularly called geep, or occasionally shoats, they’re still quite rare. This is due to the genetic distance between their parent animals, which usually results in the offspring being stillborn. Because of this, despite several reported cases of geep being born in the last few years, some experts question their legitimacy. Geep tend to have wool like sheep, but generally have smaller, thinner frames and legs like goats. The combination is as adorable as it is cuddly.

You may not have heard of a swoose - it does sound like something out of Dr. Seuss. But this waterfowl hybrid between a swan and a goose is very real, albeit exceptionally rare. Sweese have a variety of colorings, and can easily be confused with crossbreeds of various swan or goose species. However, identifying characteristics reportedly include dark plumage and a raised knob at the base of the bill. The most documented example is the Dorset Swoose in England, first recorded in 2004. Those interested should need no excuse to view a swoose.

“Coywolf” is a catchall term for any coyote hybrid, but for this entry, we’re focusing on the eastern coyote, which is two thirds western coyote, plus a mix of wolf and domestic dog. They have a variety of colorings, though the most common is gray-brown with reddish ears and legs. Generally speaking, they’re larger than western coyotes, although smaller than gray wolves. First documented in the 1930s, the eastern coyote inhabits the Great Lakes Region. Their emergence is linked to human activity: following the extirpation of gray wolves in the area, western coyotes colonized it and interbred with the remaining wolves. Members of the canis genus are closely related, so unlike many hybrids, eastern coyotes can reproduce, leading to a robust population.

Dzo may not look or sound like any animal you’ve ever heard of, but it’s a combination between two common animals - domestic cattle and yaks. Sometimes called yattle or a yakow, dzo are most often found in the Himalayan mountain regions of central Asia. Technically, dzo refers to male hybrids, which are sterile, and dzomo to females, which can reproduce. Because they’re larger and stronger than both parent species, they’re used as pack animals in the region. They’re also considered superior in terms of meat and milk production. You could say they’re real “cash dzos!” That doesn’t really translate well, does it?

Savannah cats are a hybrid between domestic cats and servals, a wild African cat. A recognized breed of domestic cat, Savannahs are technically any cat with serval blood, though how far removed the serval ancestor is determines how wild they are and their overall traits. In general though, they have a spotted coat and tall, thin bodies, with the first generation being around the size of an average dog. Savannahs can be trained like dogs too, able to recognize more commands than most cats. Plus, they’re not as adverse to water. However, their size has many places concerned about their effects on the local ecosystems, so they’re banned in certain states and countries.

A zebroid is one of several hybrids between a zebra and any kind of equine. These include ponies, horses, and donkeys, among others. The resulting animals are called zonies, zorses, and zonkeys, if the male parent is a zebra, which is usually the most common for zebra hybrids. Zebroids generally have stripes, but with the coloration of the non-zebra parent. These striking creatures are usually bred for domestic purposes, like riding or hauling things, though they can still be wilder than most domesticated equines.

No, that wasn’t a sneeze, that’s the actual name of the animal! A wholphin is a hybrid between a female bottlenose dolphin and a male false killer whale, which, as its name suggests, is a dolphin in disguise. Despite sightings in the wild, the only known living wholphin, Kekaimalu, is in captivity at Sea Life Park in Hawaii. Wholphins are a blend of the bottlenose dolphin’s light gray and a false killer whale’s black color, making a shade of dark gray. Wholphins can have offspring, and Kekaimalu was able to give birth to several calves, via a bottlenose dolphin, only one of which has survived to adulthood.

Camas are hybrids between a female llama and a male dromedary camel. These animals don’t mate in the wild. Apart from living on separate continents, the size difference between them would be…problematic. A cama lacks a camel’s hump, but has the wooly coat of a llama. They were originally bred for their coats in 1998, with the goal of creating a wool producing animal that could survive in desert climates, and have the strength of a camel, but a more docile temperament. Early experiments with this haven’t proven very successful, but the cama is still a fascinating hybrid.

Bear species can interbreed, but one of the least common is the mating between a grizzly (or North American brown) bear and a polar bear. Named either a grolar or pizzly bear (depending on the species of the father), these hybrids generally have light hair like polar bears, but possess the characteristic back hump of grizzlies. The behavior of the few that have been observed extensively is closer to polar bears overall though. While mostly seen in captivity, grolar/pizzly bears have been increasingly sighted in the wild. Scientists speculate this is due to polar bears being forced further south into grizzly territory due to climate change.