By . Chris Pleasance . The world's first male Liliger cub has been born at a private zoo in Oklahoma, USA. A liliger is the offspring of a male lion and a ligress - which itself is a cross between a male lion and a tigress. The adorable cub and his little sister together make up America's second litter of the rare hybrid animal. Scroll down for video . The world's first male liliger cub (right) has been born in Oklahoma, along with a sister (left). The children are the offspring of a male lion and a female lioness, which is itself the the product of breeding between a lion and a tiger . The are the second set of offspring to come from father Simba and mother Akara, who had another set of cubs in November last year . The little spotted cubs were born in the GW Interactive Zoo in Wynnewood, Oklahoma on May 31st. Their parents are Simba, a male lion and Akara - a female liger who gave birth to America's first liliger cubs in November last year. Zoo president Joe Schreibvogel said: 'One of the biggest purposes of what we're doing here, crossbreeding animals, is to educate the public. 'Crossbred animals do not produce dead offspring or genetically deformed offspring - inbreeding causes that and there is a big difference. 'Crossbred animals are genetically healthier - there has never been a recorded incident of a deformed crossbred baby. Zoo president Joe Schreibvogel (pictured) was keen to stress that the animals are crossbred rather than inbred, which means they will not produce dead or deformed offspring . 'We have researchers keeping track of the DNA and genetics very carefully so we can do this properly - none of this is done artificially. 'This litter proves that genetically hybrid cats are stronger than pure bred cats - and that they originate from the same species or they wouldn't be able to produce healthy offspring.' The liliger cubs weighed approximately 3.5 pounds and were 11.25 inches long. The zoo plans to build a special exhibit of the rare animals, but the new liligers litter will be kept separate from the other cubs for now. Joe added: 'They will be on exhibit in about six to eight weeks - we're excited to see their progress.' In many countries, such as Thailand, breeding rare cats such as lions and tigers is illegal as it does nothing to preserve either species. The offspring serve no purpose and cannot be introduced into the wild, so are usually bred only as a tourist attraction in order to make money for zoos, according to Liger.org. There are several ligers in U.S. zoos, but Oklahoma are the only zoo to breed liligers, a cross between a male lion and a female liger. The gender of the animal decides how the name is formed. While ligers are the mix of male lions and female tigers, tigons are male tigers and female lions. The controversial world of hybrids also includes 'leopons' - the spawn of female leopards and male lions, along with several zebra-horse-donkey zebroids such as zorses, zonkeys, and zonies. Camas are a mix of camels and llamas; grolars and pizzlies are combinations of polar bears and grizzlies; and there are also 'wolphins,' Bottlenose dolphins mated with false killer whales.
Male and female liliger cub born in Oklahoma zoo on May 31 .
They are second set to be born to father Sima and mother Akara .
Akara is a ligress, a crossbreed between a lion and a tiger .
By . Chris Pleasance . The world's first male Liliger cub has been born at a private zoo in Oklahoma, USA. A liliger is the offspring of a male lion and a ligress - which itself is a cross between a male lion and a tigress. The adorable cub and his little sister together make up America's second litter of the rare hybrid animal. Scroll down for video . The world's first male liliger cub (right) has been born in Oklahoma, along with a sister (left). The children are the offspring of a male lion and a female lioness, which is itself the the product of breeding between a lion and a tiger . The are the second set of offspring to come from father Simba and mother Akara, who had another set of cubs in November last year . The little spotted cubs were born in the GW Interactive Zoo in Wynnewood, Oklahoma on May 31st. Their parents are Simba, a male lion and Akara - a female liger who gave birth to America's first liliger cubs in November last year. Zoo president Joe Schreibvogel said: 'One of the biggest purposes of what we're doing here, crossbreeding animals, is to educate the public. 'Crossbred animals do not produce dead offspring or genetically deformed offspring - inbreeding causes that and there is a big difference. 'Crossbred animals are genetically healthier - there has never been a recorded incident of a deformed crossbred baby. Zoo president Joe Schreibvogel (pictured) was keen to stress that the animals are crossbred rather than inbred, which means they will not produce dead or deformed offspring . 'We have researchers keeping track of the DNA and genetics very carefully so we can do this properly - none of this is done artificially. 'This litter proves that genetically hybrid cats are stronger than pure bred cats - and that they originate from the same species or they wouldn't be able to produce healthy offspring.' The liliger cubs weighed approximately 3.5 pounds and were 11.25 inches long. The zoo plans to build a special exhibit of the rare animals, but the new liligers litter will be kept separate from the other cubs for now. Joe added: 'They will be on exhibit in about six to eight weeks - we're excited to see their progress.' In many countries, such as Thailand, breeding rare cats such as lions and tigers is illegal as it does nothing to preserve either species. The offspring serve no purpose and cannot be introduced into the wild, so are usually bred only as a tourist attraction in order to make money for zoos, according to Liger.org. There are several ligers in U.S. zoos, but Oklahoma are the only zoo to breed liligers, a cross between a male lion and a female liger. The gender of the animal decides how the name is formed. While ligers are the mix of male lions and female tigers, tigons are male tigers and female lions. The controversial world of hybrids also includes 'leopons' - the spawn of female leopards and male lions, along with several zebra-horse-donkey zebroids such as zorses, zonkeys, and zonies. Camas are a mix of camels and llamas; grolars and pizzlies are combinations of polar bears and grizzlies; and there are also 'wolphins,' Bottlenose dolphins mated with false killer whales.
male lion and a ligress - which itself is a cross male liliger cub (right) has been born in of breeding between a lion and a tiger . The are the second set of offspring to come from father Simba and mother Akara, who had another set of Wynnewood, Oklahoma on May 31st. Their parents