FEATURE
Animal hybrid breeding crosses line How long can humans continue to play God? HANNAH LEE
opinion chief
MOST PEOPLE HAVE heard of the mule, a hybrid of a horse and a donkey, which existed since the ancient times. Have you heard of a liger? A beefalo? A Wholpin? A leopon? These are not silly names out of a Dr. Seuss book but rather frightening and fascinating realities in the animal world. You can usually decipher the parentage of the hybrids through their fanatical names. Hybrids by definition are a cross between two distinct species. So mixed dogs would not fit the definition but it is rather a separate species producing a separate specied offspring altogether would. A liger is a hybrid of a male lion and female tiger. A beefalo is a mix between a domestic cow and a bison. A wholpin is very rare offspring of a bottle-nose dolphin and false killer whale, and a leopon is a cross between a leopard and a lionness. Although these animals may be a dream come true for some fantasy lovers or an exciting advancement in natural science and the animal kingdom, it is not actually as pretty a picture as intended. Select hybrids result naturally from the overlapping of two species’ territories and ‘incidents.’ However, humans have also created several by playing God in the animal kingdom, causing dire consequences. A majority of exotic hybrids are bred by irresponsible breeders for entertainment purposes for profit. A hybrid may live in a cage from the moment it was born until the day it dies as people pay for tickets to gawk and point at the interesting mix. Additionally, many hybrids are sterile (cannot produce more of its kind) or have some kind a side-effect. For instance, the liger is abnormally huge, surpassing the size of both parents, and the may suffer birth defects or kill Sources: National Geographic, Big Cat Rescue, Slate, New York Times
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ZONKEY Design by Hannah Lee
the mother during the supernatural birth. On the flip side, zonkeys are usually born with dwarfism, shorter than the donkey or zebra. Another effect is a shorter life. Mixed species usually have a shorter life span and a very small percentage are healthy with no defects. Recently, the already controversial line of hybridization is being further pushed. Early January this year, scientists announced the very first successful humananimal hybrid made in the lab--- with a pig. These hybrids of humans are termed chimera. Scientist believe it can be of positive use to “custom grow” organs needed for human patients in a pig. However, adding humans to hybrid breeding equations are a scary thing to accept by the public and officials. This basically uses the pig embryo as a host for a human organ. The cells must first survive in a Petri dish then the patient must undergo tremendous surgeries in order to obtain the tissues to begin the process. The injected embryos are then put in pig wombs to grow and be born. The process is not perfected and has not been tested all the way to an actual alive pig walking around with a human organ inside it. Yet, it sparks much debate and protests among organizations against animal cruelty such as the Animal Protection Organization. Although it is only the human organ inside another species, when will the line be drawn? Animal hybridization is a major issue but human-animal hybridization seems to make it less of a big deal in comparison. But when is enough, enough? How long can humans play God before a disaster everyone will regret will occur whether an animal-animal or a humananimal hybrid?