A one-month-old liger -- a hybrid of a tiger and lion -- being cared for at a protected wildlife shelter in the southern Taiwan county of Pingtung has genetic defects that jeopardize its survival, the shelter's manager said Tuesday. The cub, the only survivor of three that were born Aug. 15 to a tigress that was illegally mated with a lion at a privately run leisure farm in Tainan County, is currently in stable condition but has suffered from a variety of symptoms, including fever and breathing difficulties, over the course of its short life, according to Pei Jai-chyi. The animal, a male, was ill when it was taken to the shelter run by National Pingtung University of Science and Technology one day after its birth, but later began to grow well, thanks to round-the-clock care by veterinarians at the shelter, Pei noted. However, the cub, which now weighs 3 kg, displays obvious physical defects caused by the cross-breeding, such as tail and spine deformity, a rigid left rear leg, and immature lungs prone to inflammation, he said. 'Even if the cub continues to grow, it will always suffer pain and inconvenience resulting from these genetic defects,' Pei said. He pointed out that the shelter has already spent a lot of energy and money to keep the cub alive and denounced the practice of cross-breeding two different species, which he said is mostly only conducted to please the public at the expense of another living creature. 