This paper reports the results of a near infrared spectroscopic survey of LINER galaxies undertaken with a new infrared spectrograph at the 5 m Hale telescope .
The galaxy sample includes 11 LINERs with spectra covering the [ FeII ] ( 1.2567 \mu m ) , Pa \beta ( 1.2818 \mu m ) , H _ { 2 } ( 1-0 S ( 1 ) , 2.1218 \mu m ) and Br \gamma ( 2.1655 \mu m ) near infrared emission lines , and one additional galaxy with only [ FeII ] and Pa \beta line coverage .

All of the LINERs with infrared line detections have strong [ FeII ] and/or H _ { 2 } emission , with about half ( 4 out of 9 ) having extremely high ratios ( > 2 ) of [ FeII ] to Pa \beta .
The strength of the H _ { 2 } and [ FeII ] lines is well correlated with the optical [ OI ] line , with many LINERs having higher ratios of [ FeII ] /Pa \beta , H _ { 2 } /Br \gamma and [ OI ] /H \alpha than other galaxy types .
The LINERs with the highest [ FeII ] /Pa \beta ratios ( termed “ strong ” [ FeII ] LINERs ) show evidence for recent star formation .
Shocks from compact supernova remnants may enhance the [ FeII ] emission in these “ strong ” [ FeII ] LINERs .
The LINERs with lower [ FeII ] /Pa \beta ratios ( termed “ weak ” [ FeII ] LINERs ) are more consistent with Seyfert-like activity , including higher ionization states , some strong x-ray sources and some broad H \alpha detections .
The [ FeII ] luminosity and the [ FeII ] /Pa \beta ratio in these objects are more easily explained by hard x-ray excitation than in the “ strong ” [ FeII ] LINERs .
These “ weak ” [ FeII ] LINERs are considered prime candidates for being low luminosity Seyfert nuclei .