Lions have also been known to breed with tigers (most often the Amur and Bengal subspecies) to create hybrids called ligers and tigons.They have also been crossed with leopards to produce leopons,and jaguars to produce jaglions. The marozi is reputedly a spotted lion or a naturally occurring leopon, while the Congolese spotted lion is a complex lion/jaguar/leopard hybrid called a lijagulep. Such hybrids were once commonly bred in zoos, but this is now discouraged due to the emphasis on conserving species and subspecies. Hybrids are still bred in private menageries and in zoos in China.

The liger is a cross between a male lion and a tigress. Because the lion sire passes on a growth-promoting gene, but the corresponding growth-inhibiting gene from the female lion is absent, ligers grow far larger than either parent. They share physical and behavioural qualities of both parent species (spots and stripes on a sandy background). Male ligers are sterile, but female ligers are often fertile. Males have about a 50% chance of having a mane, but if they grow one their manes will be modest: around 50% of a pure lion mane. Ligers are typically between 10 to 12 feet in length, and can be between 800 and 1,000 pounds or more.The less common tigon is a cross between the lioness and the male tiger..