Un tigón es un híbrido de un tigre macho y una leona criados en cautiverio. Los tigones no son tan frecuentes como los híbridos inversos, llamados ligres, producto de la unión de un león y una tigresa. Es poco probable que los tigones se den en la naturaleza, debido a que tigres y leones no comparten hábitat. Los tigones presentan características de los dos progenitores, con aspecto de leones con rayas de tigres. Crecen menos que las especies de origen, debido a que heredan, de la leona, genes inhibidores de crecimiento, pero no presentan ningún tipo de enanismo. Generalmente pesan cerca de 180 kg. Poseen patas y cola largas, aunque con aspecto imponente. Son menos abundantes que los ligres, ya que éstos son intensamente buscados y explotados por circos debido a su gigantismo y, en menor medida, zoológicos deseosos de atraer al público. Generalmente, los tigones son estériles. Sin embargo, una tigona de nombre Noelle en la Reserva Shambala se apareó con un tigre y produjo un “ti-tigón”, aunque no se conocen casos de machos fértiles.

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A tigon (/ˈtaɪɡən/) or tiglon (/ˈtaɪɡlən/) is a hybrid cross between a male tiger (Panthera tigris) and a female lion (Panthera leo). Thus, it has parents with the same genus but of different species. The tigon is not currently as common as the converse hybrid, the liger; however, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Gerald Iles wrote that he had been able to obtain three tigons, but he had never seen a liger. The tigon's genome includes genetic components of both parents. Tigons can exhibit visible characteristics from both parents: they can have both spots from the mother (lions carry genes for spots—lion cubs are spotted and some adults retain faint markings) and stripes from the father. Any mane that a male tigon may have will appear shorter and less noticeable than a lion's mane and is closer in type to the ruff of a male tiger. It is a common misconception that tigons are smaller than lions or tigers. They do not exceed the size of their parent species because they inherit growth-inhibitory genes from the lioness mother, but they do not exhibit any kind of dwarfism or miniaturization; they often weigh around 180 kilograms (400 lb). This cross-breeding (between tiger and lioness) can cause difficulties during pregnancy because tiger is a bigger cat than lion. Genetic defects of cubs are not rare. It has been estimated that 1 in 500 000 survives, which shows a very low survival rate.

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