I think what Wraith is trying to say is that the animals are 'Lougars' if you will.
I'm not sure I see it, though.
I think the "Mexican Lion" is supposed to be a different subspecies of mountain lion.
It certainly seems plausible that there is interbreeding between the central american mountain lions and the north american ones, especially around Texas. It also seems plausible that the hybrids may tend to enjoy some amount of hybrid vigor. On the other hand, I don't think it's terribly likely that cross-subspecies would create a mule. Generally you only get infertile hybrids when you're breeding across species with different numbers of chromosomes (horses have 64 while donkeys have 62, for example) because the mismatch causes problems in the potential offspring. I suspect the infertility part might just be a bit of folk lore, especially since it's not even clear how you would go about determining it.
The core of the story seems pretty reasonable - that there is a hybrid mountain lion which displays increased aggression and power. Some of the details strike me as possible embellishments though.
Here are some pictures from a rancher/farmer I know that hung a camera on a tree to see what investigated a calf that was killed by a big cat. The pictures are on the attatchments. I have never seen Mountain lions together like this, ever. They are extremely territorial and hate each other. If mountain lions began hunting as a pride instead of single attacks; things might get interesting.
These are pictures from Washington state. It's two mothers with three cubs each. It's not a hunting pack.
Have you been to south Texas? No one studies these animals cause there is no money there worth spending on for animal research. I could not find anything on Mexican lions either, but jaguars and panthers could what the ranch hands called Mexican lions.
Note your comments from allexperts said if mated, not that they actually saw the cub. On a side note, their have been other species crosses such as the grizzly and polar bear that wear "mule" and epically large and aggressive. These specimens were studied and on display on discovery channel and in museums.
Right, but I think what he's saying is that polar bears and grizzly bears are of the same genus (Ursus) and are therefore able to at least produce offspring. On the other hand mountain lions are genus Puma whereas jaguars and panthers are Panthera (although the word "panther" can also be used for mountain lions sometimes), which makes it much less likely they'd be able to produce anything.
One reasonable contender I found was the Costa Rican cougar:
That's just a different subspecies than the North American cougar, so it should have no problems interbreeding (although it'd make producing infertile cubs a little less likely).
@OP- give bigfoot a break, he does not have pay per view.
Any of you live near the Texas/Mexico border (Zapata county and surrounding)? Ever hear of a Mexican Lion? Did you know that when you cross a Mexican lion with an American Mountain lion or cougar the result is a mule of sorts. The locals/illegal immigrants called them "Once Real" (read it as if in Spanish). We came across one on my Uncle's Ranch and it was Africa lion huge. The gate was closed and needed opening to pass through and the lion was near by on the same side of the fence. The tail is the length of the body and another half. It was wipping around trying to get my dads attention on the tail for quick pounce (assumed, but had to be for that effort). My dad kept his .357 aimed at it till it gave up and moved on (4-5 minute stare down). He did not shoot it cause the lion was to close for a follow up shot with revolver, and truck door was open with us inside. It left and we never saw it again.
We learned later of it's name and origins from the ranch hands. Us asking questions promptly about it caused all the migrant workers to leave creating a problem for the cattle sale roundup. One ranch hand showed us a heifer that had been killed by one of these mule lions. It only ate the tongue and pissed on the rest of it. He also claimed the only means hunt these things is to get on very high hill overlooking a large rock for sunning themselves in early morning after a rain. That's all I know about these mule lions. Their color is very similar mountain lions, and the head very odd shaped like a pit viper.
Is a mexican lion a different species from a mountain lion? I'm a little confused as to what the ingredients of the hybrid are here.
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I think the "Mexican Lion" is supposed to be a different subspecies of mountain lion.
It certainly seems plausible that there is interbreeding between the central american mountain lions and the north american ones, especially around Texas. It also seems plausible that the hybrids may tend to enjoy some amount of hybrid vigor. On the other hand, I don't think it's terribly likely that cross-subspecies would create a mule. Generally you only get infertile hybrids when you're breeding across species with different numbers of chromosomes (horses have 64 while donkeys have 62, for example) because the mismatch causes problems in the potential offspring. I suspect the infertility part might just be a bit of folk lore, especially since it's not even clear how you would go about determining it.
The core of the story seems pretty reasonable - that there is a hybrid mountain lion which displays increased aggression and power. Some of the details strike me as possible embellishments though.
These are pictures from Washington state. It's two mothers with three cubs each. It's not a hunting pack.
http://missoulian.com/lifestyles/recreation/regional/hunter-gets-photo-of-eight-mountain-lions-congregating-in-central/article_20f2a6fe-3ad5-11e0-bbd7-001cc4c03286.html
I don't think is true.
Right, but I think what he's saying is that polar bears and grizzly bears are of the same genus (Ursus) and are therefore able to at least produce offspring. On the other hand mountain lions are genus Puma whereas jaguars and panthers are Panthera (although the word "panther" can also be used for mountain lions sometimes), which makes it much less likely they'd be able to produce anything.
One reasonable contender I found was the Costa Rican cougar:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Rican_cougar
That's just a different subspecies than the North American cougar, so it should have no problems interbreeding (although it'd make producing infertile cubs a little less likely).
Is a mexican lion a different species from a mountain lion? I'm a little confused as to what the ingredients of the hybrid are here.