This is not exactly what you requested, but it may capture the spirit. Create an anonymous closure for each animal. Use a meaningful names for the reference variables.

use strict;
use warnings;
sub make_animal_subs {
    my $animal = shift;
    return sub{print $animal, "\n";};
}

my $function_tiger = make_animal_subs('tiger');
my $function_dog   = make_animal_subs('dog');

$function_tiger->();
&$function_dog(); # Or use the alternate syntax.
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UPDATE: Sorry, I had not seen haukex's similar post.