A strange occurrence is happening in the shadows of the savannah... lionesses are sneaking off to find some rather interesting partners, and the results are quite startling!
Hybrids are one of the rarest and most valuable mutations on Lioden. If you'd like to learn more about them, read on!
Hybrids
On Lioden, hybrids occur when a female lioness is impregnated by a male of another species. This is not something that you can force to happen—it is a random, extremely tiny chance that rolls with every breeding done in game. You'll know if your lioness has had a successful tryst with a male of another species, as you'll receive a Game Notification upon your little hybrid bundle of joy being born into the world of Lioden. The lower your lioness's fertility is, the higher her odds are of naturally producing random mutations, which can include hybrids; however, every lioness on Lioden has the ability to produce a first generation hybrid, regardless of their fertility level or mutation.
Types of Hybrids
There are two types of hybrid mutations on Lioden: Leopons and Tigons.
Leopons
Leopons were the first hybrid to be introduced to Lioden, making their debut into the game on October 9th, 2015. Leopons are a cross between a male leopard and a female lion. They are smaller than typical lions. Male Leopons show hints of a mane, but nothing compared to a regular male lion.
If you're lucky enough to birth a first generation Leopon, you'll be notified within your Daily Rollover Summary—or, if you use an Instant Cub Delivery, you'll receive a Game Notification entitled "Interesting Cub" that contains the following message: "This litter brought a small surprise: a cub that is different to normal lion cubs. Upon questioning - in fear of being chased or killed - the lioness admits to a small rendezvous with a leopard when she was in heat... The cub is a hybrid! What will you do now!?"
All first generation Leopons share the following attributes.
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Cub Newborn
 Cub Young
 Cub
 Adolescent Female
 Adolescent Male
 Adult Female
 Adult Male
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Traits
The traits exclusive to Leopons are the Kimanjano base (Genetics: Golden Dark Countershaded Special) and Mottled Rosette marking. These traits spawn from first generation Leopons, but can pass down to non-Leopon lions at a lower rate than other bases and markings. The Kimanjano base requires at least one parent to have the base in order to pass it, so you cannot get Kimanjano from non-Kimanjano parents. The same is true for the Mottled Rosette marking—it cannot appear on cubs unless at least one of the parents has the marking. Mottled Rosette is excluded from being applied with Random Marking Applicators and Total Shuffles. Mottled Rosette can also only ever be found in Slot 6 and cannot appear in any other marking slots.
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Kimanjano Base
 Mottled Rosette Marking
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Tigons
Tigons were the second hybrid to be introduced to Lioden, with their official release date being October 31st, 2018. Tigons are a cross between a male tiger and a female lion. Unlike Leopons, which were silently added to Lioden and only announced when the first one was conceived, Tigons had a mini-event called Tigon Hype to introduce them to the game. This event lasted for a few weeks (from September 14th 2018 to October 31st 2018) and involved a handful of explore encounters unique to the event, including one that gave a small chance (1 in 150) of producing a first generation Tigon. The event has since retired, though it is still possible to breed first generation Tigons. Another thing that makes Tigons unique is that while Leopons will always have "Unknown" leopard fathers, Tigons will always be related to the same tiger father, Ashkarn. Ashkarn is owned by one of the site creators, Xylax (#4). Ashkarn does not actually breed with any lions, nor does he accept stud requests. He only exists for lore and NPC purposes.
If you're lucky enough to birth a first generation Tigon, you'll be notified within your Daily Rollover Summary—or, if you use an Instant Cub Delivery, you'll receive a Game Notification entitled "Interesting Cub" that contains the following message: "This litter brought a small surprise: a cub that is different to normal lion cubs. Upon questioning - in fear of being chased or killed - the lioness admits to mating with a Siberian Tiger that escaped from a nearby human facility called a "ZOO" when she was in heat... The cub is a hybrid! What will you do now!?"
All first generation Tigons share the following attributes.
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Cub Newborn
 Cub Young
 Cub
 Adolescent Female
 Adolescent Male
 Adult Female
 Adult Male
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Traits
The traits exclusive to Tigons are the Mandarin base (Genetics: Golden Medium Countershaded Special) and Mottled Stripes marking. These traits spawn from first generation Tigons, but can pass down to non-Tigon lions at a lower rate than other bases and markings. The Mandarin base requires at least one parent to have the base in order to pass it, so you cannot get Mandarin from non-Mandarin parents. The same is true for the Mottled Stripes marking—it cannot appear on cubs unless at least one of the parents has the marking. Mottled Stripes is excluded from being applied with Random Marking Applicators and Total Shuffles. Mottled Stripes can also only ever be found in Slot 8 and cannot appear in any other marking slots.
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Mandarin Base
 Mottled Stripes Marking
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Basic Information
First generation hybrids are always born with default attributes that ignore the parents' genetics and a lineart unique to their mutation. Unless customised after they are born, first generation Leopons will always have the Kimanjano base, a Scarce Dark Golden mane, Yellow eyes, Dudley skin, Slot 1: White Underfelt (100%), and Slot 6: Mottled Rosette (100%). The same goes for first generation Tigons—unless otherwise customised, they will always have the Mandarin base, a Scarce Nacarat mane, Sunglow eyes, Tawny skin, Slot 7: White Undersides (80%), and Slot 8: Mottled Stripes (100%). Their appearances can be altered just like any other lion's without restriction.
All first generation hybrids are fertile, though their fertility ranges between Very Low (1%) to Very Low (5%).
Each hybrid comes with its own set of unique attributes and lineart, as shown above. While these bases and markings can only spawn into the game from first generation hybrids, they can be passed down from hybrids onto their offspring. It should be noted that these bases and markings have special lowered pass rates compared to other bases and markings. It is easier for hybrids to naturally pass these traits onto their direct offspring, though if their offspring happen to be normal lions, these lions will have a much harder time naturally passing traits down. For reference, when breeding to a parent with the appropriate hybrid mutation (Leopon for Kimanjano and Tigon for Mandarin), the bases will pass at the same rate as a normal Special base. If the bases are bred by parents without the appropriate mutation, the base will pass at half the rate of a normal Special base passing.
As hybrids occupy a lion's mutation slot, you cannot have a hybrid with additional mutations. If you see a hybrid that looks like it has Achromia or Melanism, this is due to the hybrid's owner applying a custom decor onto their hybrid to give the appearance of a secondary mutation.
Generations
You are able to tell whether a hybrid is a first generation or otherwise, even if its appearance has been altered. Excluding the Christmas hybrid raffle lionesses, first generation Leopons will always have an "Unknown" father, while first generation Tigons always descend from the male tiger "Ashkarn". First generation hybrids will also always be denoted within the mutation field on their page, e.g. "Leopon (First Generation)" and "Tigon (First Generation)".
Hybrid generations no longer track once it surpasses the first generation, meaning if your first generation Leopon gives birth to another Leopon, that Leopon descendant and all subsequent Leopons they produce will only be referred to as "Leopon", rather than "Leopon (X Generation)". A hybrid being first generation is separated from further generations due to the fact that there is a difference in pass rates for first generations and subsequent generations. First generation female hybrids have a 10% chance per cub to produce a hybrid, whereas subsequent generations (second and onwards) have a 5% chance per cub. The chance never diminishes from 5% regardless of how long a female hybrid's heritage gets—a tenth generation hybrid has the same odds of producing hybrid cubs as a second or third generation. That being said, the chance never increases, either—the 10% chance pass rate is exclusive only to first generation female hybrids.
Stats
In the wild, hybrids have a very low chance to survive when compared to other animals. To add a flair of realism to the game, all hybrids born on Lioden have drastically lower stats than normal lions, around 10-30 at birth. Thankfully, your hybrid being born with low stats does not force them to be weak for life. You can hunt, patrol, and train your hybrid like any other lion—they just start off at a lower stat value than other lions would. Be careful with kinging a male hybrid, though—his offspring will inherit 10% less stats than they would if your pride leader had a different mutation, or no mutation at all.
Females Versus Males
Female hybrids can pass down their mutations to their offspring. As mentioned, first generation hybrids have a 10% chance per cub to produce another hybrid. Second generation hybrids and onwards have a 5% chance per cub to produce another hybrid.
Male hybrids cannot pass down their mutations under any circumstances. Male hybrids can be pride leaders, but this comes with severe penalties that may make you reconsider kinging one.
- Male hybrids can only breed to lionesses with Goddess (100%) fertility. Using Angelic Blessings, Black Stallions, and Vuka Vukas to bypass this does not work—they can only breed to lionesses who were born with 100% fertility, or who had Chasteberries used to increase their fertility temporarily to 100%.
- Cubs born from male hybrids will have 10% less stats than if your male had a different mutation.
- Cubs born from male hybrids will be Infertile (0%).
- Each breeding costs an extra 5% Energy (e.g. failed breedings will take 10% Energy rather than 5% Energy, successful breedings within your pride will take 10% Energy rather than 5% Energy, and successful breedings outside of your pride will take 15% Energy).
- Male hybrids will never pass down their mutation, and breeding a male hybrid to a female hybrid does not increase the chances of producing hybrid cubs.
- The pass rate for hybrid-specific markings (Mottled Rosette and Mottled Stripes) is not increased by having a male hybrid king.
Despite the penalties, Kimanjano and Mandarin receive the same boost from hybrid kings that hybrid females give; however, it does not double if both parents are the same type of hybrid.
Due to the debuffs that male hybrids have, and the fact that they cannot produce further hybrids themselves, most players choose to keep their hybrids as females to continue their lineages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is there any method to easily breeding a hybrid?
A: Not exactly. Breeding a hybrid is completely up to luck and random chance. If you already have a female hybrid or have access to a female hybrid, you have higher odds of producing a hybrid cub due to female hybrids having a natural chance of passing down their mutations (10% chance per cub for first generations, 5% chance per cub for subsequent generations), but producing a first generation hybrid is incredibly rare.
If you already have a hybrid or have access to a hybrid...
The best odds of increasing your chances to produce another hybrid from her would be to use a Buffalo Scrotum and Instant Cub Delivery (or "IBF") for every breeding you do. Buffalo Scrotums guarantee at least three cubs will be produced, and Instant Cub Deliveries will eliminate the three-day waiting period for her to give birth, which can result in you squeezing another heat out of her before she is too old to breed again as long as you breed her on the first day of her heat cycle. If you have access to Yohimbe Barks, these are also incredibly useful as they cut down on her breeding cooldown, but due to the cost per Yohimbe Bark being extremely high outside of February, it may not be worth the investment.
If you do not have a hybrid...
The best odds of increasing your chances to produce a first generation hybrid without spending lots of currency on expensive breeding items would be to use Cotton Root Barks on your lionesses. Quite a few players have done CRB projects where they will spend GB on a few hundred CRBs, breed their lionesses, use the CRBs on them, breed them again, and will more often than not end up with a decent amount of mutated cubs. Some players have even bred first generation hybrids and lethal mutations from CRBs alone. It can take anywhere from one CRB to thousands of CRBs to produce a first generation hybrid, so it may not be a cheap project, but it is still less expensive and more cost effective than combining CRBs and GMO Cows for every breeding. For the cost of one GMO Cow (which tends to be around 50 GB for most of the year), you can breed and CRB 50 lionesses. You also have a low chance of claiming NCLs with CRB effects already applied when your pride leader is at Dreamboat impression.
If you cannot afford CRBs, then your next best bet would be to breed lionesses with as low fertility levels as possible. The lower a lioness's fertility, the higher her odds are of producing mutations—Very Low (1%) fertility has a greater chance of producing a mutation than Goddess (100%)—though the odds of producing a mutation based on fertility alone is extremely minimal. That being said, even Goddess (100%) fertility lionesses can produce first generation hybrids. Every single breeding is just luck of the draw.
Q: Can I apply a hybrid mutation onto my lions?
A: No. The only mutations that can be directly applied to lions are Overgrown Fur, Patches, Piebalds, and Primal. Hybrids can only be bred for and bred down from other hybrids.
Q: Can I use a Lion Scrotum on a hybrid?
A: No. Lion Scrotums are not able to be used on hybrids.
Q: Can I breed a first generation hybrid from another hybrid?
A: Yes. The odds are astronomically low, but it has happened. Your Leopon could produce a first generation Tigon, your Tigon could produce a first generation Leopon, and a hybrid could produce another first generation hybrid of its own type.
Q: Can multiple first generation hybrids be born in one litter?
A: Technically, yes, as the mutation chance rolls per cub; however, the odds of this happening are astronomically low, and in most cases, only one cub will ever be born as a first generation hybrid within a litter.
Q: If I have a first generation hybrid born in a litter with multiple non-hybrid cubs, do the other cubs in the litter share the same parent information?
A: No. Only the first generation hybrid cub will have a different father. The other cubs will be related to the king you bred your lioness to.
Q: Does my hybrid's fertility level affect the chances of her producing a hybrid?
A: No. Fertility will not affect your hybrid's natural pass rate for producing hybrids. Fertility only affects random mutation chance and how easily your lioness will get pregnant.
Q: Can I sex change a hybrid?
A: Yes, but only if your hybrid is a cub or adolescent. Adult hybrids cannot be sex changed.
Q: Can I remove a hybrid mutation from my lion?
A: Yes. If a hybrid is born and you do not wish for it to be a hybrid, you can use a Safou Fruit to remove the mutation. They can be bought for 1000 SB from Monkey Business. It is not advised to remove a hybrid mutation due to their high value, but you can do as you like with your own lions.
Q: Can I use a Cotton Root Bark (or "CRB") on a hybrid?
A: Yes, but many players strongly advise against using CRBs on hybrids. This is because hybrids already have a natural chance to pass down their mutation, so using a Cotton Root Bark to terminate your hybrid's litter can result in a hybrid cub being deleted. CRBs also do not increase your hybrid's chance of producing further hybrids.
Q: My lion's parent is a hybrid. Does this mean they can produce hybrids, too?
A: Non-hybrid offspring from hybrids have the same odds of producing hybrids as any other lions. A non-hybrid lion with a hybrid in their heritage does not have a higher chance of producing a hybrid than a lion without any hybrids in their heritage. Hybrids are not a carrier-like mutation: either your lion is a hybrid and they can naturally pass it down, or your lion is not a hybrid and they can only produce a first generation hybrid at an extremely low chance.
Q: I came across an explore encounter that mentioned a smug leopard/flirtatious leopardess/lipard cub. Does it increase my chances of producing a leopon if I interact with these encounters?
A: No. The odds of producing first generation hybrids are not increased by any encounters that can currently be found while exploring. These encounters are just for fun and flavour text.
Q: I claimed a lioness after following a leopard in Explore. Does this lioness have a higher chance of producing a first generation Leopon?
A: No. She will have the same chance as any other lioness of producing a first generation hybrid.
Q: If I use appearance-affecting breeding items (e.g. Crunchy Worm, Ochre Saltlick, Opal Saltlick, Rock Salt, etc.) during a breeding and a first generation hybrid is born, will the hybrid's appearance be influenced by these items?
A: No. If a first generation hybrid is born from a litter where you have used appearance-affecting breeding items, the first generation hybrid will have the same appearance all other first generation hybrids are born with. If any other cubs were produced in the litter, however, the items will have applied onto them as normal.
Q: Can I use a Crunchy Worm to clone a first generation hybrid?
A: Yes. First generation hybrids can have Crunchy Worms used on them and carry the same 25% chance per litter to clone like all other lions.
Q: Should I avoid breeding my hybrid to a mutated stud?
A: This comes down to personal preference. Hybrids will always roll first in the mutation roll order, so there is absolutely no risk with breeding a hybrid to a stud that has a heritable mutation (e.g. Patches, Piebald, and Primal). If you want to avoid mutated studs, you're welcome to do so, but there is no harm in choosing a mutated stud as the stud's natural mutation chance will not overwrite your hybrid's natural mutation chance.
Q: I bought an immortal hybrid from another player. Can I remove their immortality and breed them?
A: No. When using a Jellyfish-type item to freeze lions, the player that chose to freeze the lion only has one hour after applying the item to reverse the item's use. If it has been longer than one hour since the lion was frozen, or the lion has moved onto another player's account, it can no longer be unfrozen.
Q: Does my lioness need to have spot markings for a leopard to breed with her?
A: No. Any mention of a lioness needing to have spots to entice leopards to breed with her are not true and are only made to poke fun at a leopard breeding with a lioness that looks like another leopard. Any lioness can produce a first generation Leopon, regardless of her appearance.
Q: Do I still have to breed my lionesses for them to produce hybrids?
A: Yes. Lionesses cannot randomly produce cubs unless they are bred, whether by your pride leader or another player's pride leader. The chance of a hybrid being produced does not roll until a breeding actually takes place.
Q: Does it increase my odds of getting a hybrid if I breed two lions together that have hybrid traits?
A: No. It would increase your odds of passing these traits down onto cubs, but it will not affect your odds of getting a hybrid.
Q: I have a lion with hybrid traits, but they do not have any hybrids in their heritage. How does this happen?
A: All hybrid traits originate from hybrids. If a lion has the Kimanjano base or Mottled Rosette marking, this means that at some point in the lion's ancestry, there existed a first generation Leopon. The same is said for the Mandarin base and Mottled Stripes marking—a first generation Tigon existed within your lion's ancestry. On Lioden, it is possible to wipe a lion's heritage through two methods: keeping a pride leader's appearance while replacing them with an heir that has different heritage, and chasing an adult lioness.
With the first method, you can either king a first generation hybrid or king a cub with hybrid traits, then replace your pride leader with a brand new lion while keeping the original appearance. This can result in a heritageless (or different heritage) pride leader whose appearance originated from a hybrid. With the second method, you could chase off an adult first generation hybrid or a lioness with hybrid traits. She will then have a chance of going into the chased pool, where her age and appearance will be retained, but her heritage will be completely wiped.
Q: Is there a way to find custom decors that are specifically made for hybrids?
A: No. Some custom decor creators will label their custom decor with "Leopon" or "Tigon" if the custom decor is intended for these mutations, but there are also many custom decors made for these mutations that do not include labels. The only method to finding custom decors suitable for hybrids would be to preview them on your own.
Q: I saw a mention of Christmas hybrid raffle lionesses. Does this mean raffle lionesses can be hybrids?
A: Yes, but only one hybrid raffle lioness is released per year. This is always done around Christmas/the end of December. Outside of December, raffle lionesses cannot be hybrids.
The first two Christmas hybrids released were both Leopons, as Tigons did not exist at the time. Then, the next two Christmas hybrids were both Tigons. Since then, the type of hybrid appears to alternate between Leopons and Tigons, depending on what the Christmas hybrid was the year prior.
The first three Christmas hybrids were also not first generation hybrids, despite not having any heritage, so they only had a 5% chance per cub to pass down their mutation. Starting in 2019, the Christmas hybrids were adjusted to be first generation hybrids.
Miscellaneous
Achievements
There are four achievements relating to hybrids.
Christmas Hybrids
December 30th, 2016
December 29th, 2017
December 28th, 2018
December 27th, 2019
January 1st, 2021
December 31st, 2021
December 30th, 2022
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