The tigon is a hybrid pantherine species, being the offspring of a male tiger and a female lion. They often retain aspects of both parents, such spots from the mother and stripes from the father. Their manes are much shorter and less noticeable than that of a lion's, often looking more like a ruff.

They are distinct when compared to a seemingly similar hybrid, the liger. Liger's are much larger due to not inheriting certain growth halting genes found in lionesses, and in fact are the largest currently living pantherine species. They also have more noticeable manes in comparison.

See Also

• hybrid
• pantherine
• lion
• tiger
• Wikipedia article on the tigon