Fuzzbutts Notes: Hybrids

I get questions about hybrids a lot, so I thought I’d make a lil quickie guide. Reproduction in FB is a solid blend of genetics and bullshit. >:3

In the world of FB, it’s sometimes thought that any two animals can, in theory, reproduce. In actuality, however, many animals possess incompatible anatomy (eg. egg-layers vs placental mammals) or drastic size differences that make reproduction dangerous, unlikely, or downright impossible. For this reason, most critters opt to stick within their own species (or close to it) when it comes to settling down and raising families. Adoption is also fairly popular for mixed-species and same-species couples alike.

This is not to say biological reproduction is out of the cards for interspecies couples. The usual product of these unions is a “false hybrid”. An example of this would be Priscilla, a housecat born to a lioness mother and domestic cat father. Priscilla is 100% domestic cat, Felis catus. Yet she nonetheless shares some small traits with her mother, such as Shari’s blue eyes….and were anyone brave enough to shave Shari, they’d find the skin underneath her golden fur to be the same shade of purplish-pink as Priscilla’s. The genetics behind the false hybrid are yet to be fully understood. 

True hybrids can only be created between closely related species. If two animals can hybridize in the real world, then they can hybridize in Fuzzbutts. Canines make up the bulk of the world’s mammalian hybrids, ranging from mixed-breed domestic dogs to coyote/dog, dog/wolf, coyote/wolf, and dingo/dog crosses. Rarer examples are ligers (lion/tiger) and grolar bears (grizzly/polar bear). True hybrids become impossible when the parent species are not related enough. A dog and a wolf can make a true hybrid, but a dog and a fox can only make a falsie.

There’s a strange cultural clash between true hybrids and false hybrids. True hybrids may envy false hybrids for their easier time fitting in, or they may regard them as regular animals trying to feel special by claiming hybrid status. False hybrids may envy that true hybrids more obviously resemble both of their parents, as falsies may have a harder time bonding with their other parent (eg. Priscilla is too small to safely spar with Shari at the gym). Falsies may also experience mockery and disdain over their mixed parentage, and thus may express that true hybrids are unnatural freaks in a desperate bid to fit in.