History of lions in Europe

Lions inhabited parts of Europe during the Holocene and even historic times and formed a subspecies called Panthera leo europaea. They lived in ancient Rome, ancient Greece, southern Russia, coastal parts of Saudi Arabia, and western Asia including: Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. It is also suggested by historical and fossil evidence, that they lived in Portugal, Spain, southern parts of France, Italy, and the Balkans beyond Greece. Their diet included aurochs, red deer, tarpan, wild boar, and other herbivores. European lions could possibly have been the last remnants of the cave lion (Panthera leo spelaea). However, this is considered unlikely because historic depictions of European lions show animals with prominent manes, whereas cave lions are always depicted maneless in prehistoric cave art. It is therefore assumed that modern maned lions spread during the Holocene from Africa to Eurasia. It is not clear if the modern lion replaced the cave lion or occupied Europe after the cave lions already had vanished.

European lions are considered to be similar to the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica). However, there were also some differences; lions from southeastern Europe and Asia Minor usually lacked abdominal and lateral manes. In contrast, male Asiatic lions show abdominal manes when living in a relatively cool climate, like in European zoos. In addition, ancient depictions of lions from the Mesopotamian Plain suggested that they naturally had underbelly hair, similar to Barbary and Cape lions.

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