Killer bees, for some reason, were invented. And naturally, they thrived. Scientists in the fifties were looking for ways in which to increase honey production. So they decided to breed a few different species of bee: the honey bee (Apis mellifera) and the African bee (Apis mellifera scutellate). Not like we humans are happy about it.

Coyotes are the result of hybridization, did you know? Wolves and dogs had a bit of a go at each other and the result is the wily coyote. The amount of wolf or dog varies by geographic region, but the point remains that the coyote is a product of hybridization.

The red-grey kangaroo is a hybrid that comes from, you guessed it, the red kangaroo and the great grey kangaroo. Both are considered disparate enough to be classified as different species even though they’re both technically kangaroos. But hey, it didn’t stop them from trying.

The blood parrot cichlid is the love child of two other fish species: the Midas, a species localized to Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and the readhead cichlid. It may have striking colors, but it doesn’t have too large a mouth. The fish has trouble feeding and therefore has difficulty thriving.

Black and white rhinos may be different species but that hasn’t stopped them from interbreeding. The black and white rhinos may be separated by geological barriers but when sharing an area, they will breed. The hybrid doesn’t look like either parents if you look closely.

Some of the hybrids that have been created are considered abominable. No, not politicians. Human-pig hybrids (what scientists call a “chimera”) were created at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. They are a potential abomination. The act of their creation received no public funding for obvious reasons. It was all funded privately.

The mulard is an odd duck that is the offspring of a Pekin and muscovy duck. It exists as an entirely new and totally novel species. These ducks provide an interesting insight into how animals that would not normally breed exist when they do considering the artificial conditions in which they were bred in.

The result of a horse and a donkey, the mule is one of the most well-known hybrids that exists. Biology classes everywhere use this creature to help discuss one of the primary tenets of speciation (those of the so-called post-zygotic barrier), as well as a sign of what can happen when two animals of different species mate together.

The Dzo is utilized because they are better than the unedited parent species. In some respects at least. They are considered better because these hybrids produce a different type of meat and milk. It’s the stuff that has become a delicacy of sorts in Tibet and Mongolia.

The beefalo contains equal parts buffalo and cow and is one odd looking thing. Disturbingly, it tends to look like both its parents. It’s like a cow, just bigger. And that name says it all. That’s a lot of beef.

This animal is the result of a female donkey mating with a male horse. They are less common than the very common mule. The result of this different match-up of parents is somewhat easy to see. The Hinny is smaller than its counterpart but is way stronger.

The wolfdog is the product of a wolf and dog that had a steamy night together. It was all possible due to the shared relationship within the canine family. These types of relationships can happen across wolf and dog species, including the gray wolf, eastern timber wolf, and red wolf.

The cama is the result of a camel breeding with a llama. The two parent species are closely related hence the possibility of this little known hybrid. Despite their outer appearance, the two are surprisingly closely related. It’s a pretty cute animal.

The jaglion, a creature that looks like something out of mythology, was created through the selective breeding of a jaguar and lion. The animal is exceptionally rare, with a few having been birthed in different animal sanctuaries across the planet. It’s a real looker.

Narlugas are the result of narwhals breeding with beluga whales. They say that reasons for this breeding are brought about by climate change. As the climate changes, species populations become stressed (due to everything from increased acidification to the spread of invasive species), which causes habitats to overlap.

The Geep is the result of a goat and sheep getting a little too comfortable with each other. It’s a cute little thing that can be carried and cuddled. Check out “Butterfly” the Geep in Arizona. Don’t be surprised when people start wanting their own as a pet.

Minor adaptations to a changing environment can create hybrids. That seems to be the case for Australia’s blacktip shark. The common blacktip shark and the Australian blacktip shark decided to get to know each other and started making babies. A rise in global sea temperature causes the blacktip shark to suffer from added stresses. Breeding with other closely-related species could be evolution at work.

The leopon is a hybrid of a jaguar and a lion. Astonishing considering that jaguars (50 to 200 lbs.) weigh substantially less than the lions (200 to 550 lbs.). For the action to happen, a very particular set of circumstances must be in place. It is highly possible that the breeding was done in an artificial environment with a lot of help from humans. There have been claims of Leopons in the wild but no evidence has been provided to back up that claim.

A zorse is what you get from breeding a horse and a zebra. Amazingly, the animal comes complete with the most notable elements of the zebra (its black and white stripes) with those of a horse (the flat coat). The animal is also subject to dwarfism but can still breed. However, doing so is discouraged as they will spend their lives in an enclosure.

The savannah cat is the result of a domestic cat interbreeding with a serval, a species endemic to a few select regions of the African Sahara. The cat has tall springy ears and the stunning coat of a serval. It’s really cute and what’s hilarious is that it has many characteristics you would normally associate with a dog. It likes to play fetch, run around and play, and jump into the water. The savannah cat is recognized as its own species.

The pizzly bears are the result of grizzly bears and brown bears getting too close. These species are often the result of the stresses of climate change and have therefore been found in the wild. The shifting arctic conditions cause the polar bears to spend more of their time on land. And since they are put into more contact with brown bears, the two end up intermingling. Hence, the Pizzly.

The liger is one of the most popular hybrids to exist. The animal has gained an exceptional amount of attention as it is a creature that grows much larger than either the lion or tiger that birthed it. This is the result of gigantism. The problem is they grow to such a mass (they can grow to weigh around 1,200 lbs.) that their body cannot support their size. The heart cannot keep up with the size resulting in the death of this massive hybrid.

The tigon is the converse of a liger: instead of resulting from a male lion and female tiger, it results from a female lion and a male tiger. They don’t grow as massive as ligers either. They tend to maintain the traits of both creatures to a certain degree and while some have a mildly-sized mane, others have none at all. The possibility of them thriving in the wild remains to be seen.

Whales and dolphins are closely related. Both belong to the cetacean family and came from land-dwelling mammals that got a little too comfortable with the sea. The rare breeding of the common bottlenose dolphin and false killer whale gave birth to the wholphin. Compared to other dolphins, this wholphin is large. At one year of age, the dolphin is already the size of a full-grown bottlenose and is only expected to keep growing as it ages.

The zonkey is obviusly of the zebra and donkey. Both are different varieties of equine so breeding them together is not too difficult. The only problem is that the two will not breed under natural conditions. The zonkey can emerge if breeders or zookeepers want them to. The zonkey retains a few of the coat qualities of both the donkey and the zebra. But like most hybrids, it cannot reproduce.