THE zoo in Novosibirsk, Russia's third-largest city, is home to a unique animal - the liliger. That's a big cat breed where the father is a lion and the mother is a lion-tiger hybrid, called a liger.

The first liliger was born in the zoo last year and now there's a second litter of three, all of them females.

They were born in May and now have grown up enough to start exploring their surroundings, showing an endearing clumsy energy.

Their mother, Zita, was born in the zoo in 2004. Their father, Sam, is an African lion.