(MENAFN- Live Mint) A liger has been born in a private zoo in Zaharesti, near the city of Suceava in northeastern Romania, reported Reuters, adding it is attracting visitors.

With a lion for a father and a tiger for a mother, the 9-week-old male cub is thriving and in good health, dpa report vet Gabriel Gaspar as saying.

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The liger's caregivers have named him "Goliath." The zoo has made a beautiful cage for this little liger, which is also decorated with colourful balls and teddy bears. The zoo staff is closely monitoring every activity of the cub so that it does not face any kind of trouble, added the report.

Informing more about development, private zoo owner Dorin Soimaru told dpa that he set out to produce the hybrid species by housing lions and tigers together in enclosures, as he heard that ligers are popular with the public. There are at most 20 ligers in the world at the moment.

In mid-May, the environmental and veterinary protection authorities inspected the zoo after Goliath's premature birth.

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However, Soimaru denied reports which claimed fines have been imposed on the site.

Gasper added that since the liger's mother is not looking after her offspring, they are feeding Goliath with special powdered milk and poultry. The liger's sibling, a female, did not survive, added the report.

Usually, big cats in captivity and the wild often don't look after their offspring.

Meanwhile, a zoo in the western German city of Cologne on Monday issued a statement saying they were forced to euthanize two lion cubs born last week following the mother refused to feed them.

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"It is evolutionary that a mother lion only looks after the cubs that have the best chance of being born," said the zoo.

As per details, male ligers are sterile and can mate with either a lion or a tiger. However, a hybrid born from a male tiger and a female lion, it is called a tigon .

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