Cave lion. Lion... Exterminated by man... Ancient lions

The cave lion is a subspecies of lion that became extinct approximately 10 thousand years ago. It appeared on Earth 300-350 thousand years ago. Even by historical standards, this is a very long period of time. This subspecies survived several ice ages, but why it disappeared is unknown. There is an opinion that the main reason is a lack of food. The beast had nothing to eat, and it died out. This is just a guess. But no one knows what it really was like there.

Your name cave lion received not at all because he chose caves as his habitat. In these natural formations he was dying, apparently considering them the most secluded place. There lived a mighty beast in coniferous forests and in the meadows. It was there that there were many ungulates, which the lion hunted.

Traces of this predator are found even in the polar regions. They served him food there reindeer and, most likely, cubs of cave bears. These animals constituted the main diet. But besides them, lions hunted bison and young or old mammoths.

Many rock paintings with images have been preserved cave lions. It is interesting that all the animals are depicted without manes. Maybe this subspecies had no mane at all, or maybe ancient man depicted only lionesses. But the tassels on the tails, which are unique to these big cats, are depicted very carefully.

The habitat of the cave lion covered Europe, as well as central and northern regions of Asia. In northeast Asia, the animals were the largest. Over time, they became a separate subspecies, called the East Siberian or Bering cave lion. During one of the ice ages, these predators found their way across the frozen Bering Strait to America. There they settled all the way to modern Peru.

This is how it appeared american lion. In size it was significantly superior to its Eurasian counterpart. Extinct 10-14 thousand years ago for unclear reasons. Thus, there were three subspecies: Eurasian, East Siberian and American. The latter was the largest, and the first was the smallest. In size it was larger than the modern one. African lion by 10%, and the American was more by as much as 25%.

As for the Eurasian subspecies, it can be assumed that it was found in Europe until the end of the first millennium BC. e. Therefore, the beast could well participate in gladiatorial fights organized in Ancient Rome. From him came the Asiatic and African lions. These are heat-loving animals. As for the north, after the cave lion became extinct in the cold regions, there were no representatives of this species left there. The same goes for America.

These animals most likely lived in prides, just like modern lions. Rock paintings tell us about this again. They depict many animals chasing one victim. Therefore, they hunted collectively. This is an integral feature of powerful cats that rightfully bear the royal title. True, tigers are larger these days, but in that distant time, cave lions were the strongest and largest representatives of the cat family.

During excavations in northern Kenya international group scientists discovered the remains of a lion that lived in Africa more than 200 thousand years ago during the Pleistocene era. The study revealed that the animal was much larger than its long-extinct and living African relatives. Dedicated work published in the Journal of Paleontology.

African cave lions were as tall as a man

American and Kenyan experts measured the size of the skull and teeth of a lion that lived in Kenya more than 200 thousand years ago. It turned out that the animal was several times larger than its African relatives and reached the size of Pleistocene lions from America, Europe and Siberia. Scientists believe that this subspecies was previously unknown to science.

“This skull is the first evidence that giant lions existed in the middle and late Pleistocene in eastern Africa, whose size may have been due to greater mass megafauna (a set of animal species whose body weight exceeds 40-45 kg), the authors of the work believe. - The skull is remarkable for its large size, equal to the parameters of the largest cave lion skull in Eurasia and much larger than the known skulls from Africa,” they conclude.

Cave lions

Note that Pleistocene lions living in the north, namely in America, Europe and Eastern Siberia, were very different from lions from Africa and South-East Asia. In particular, they were 1.5 times larger than their southern relatives.

The Mosbach lion, living in Eurasia, is considered the largest cat known to science today. By the way, it reached a length of 3.7 m and weighed 400-430 kg. The American lion was not much smaller than the Mosbach lion: the length of its body including its tail reached 3.7 m, and it weighed about 400 kg. East Siberian lionweighed 180-270 kg and reached a length of 2.40 m without a tail.

Joseph Henri Roney Sr.

Cave lion

Abridged translation from French and Orlovskaya

Drawings by L. Durasov

Part one

Chapter 1 Un and Zur

Un, the son of the Bull, loved to visit underground caves. He caught blind fish and colorless crayfish there with Zur, the son of the Earth, the last of the Wa tribe, the Men Without Shoulders, who survived the extermination of his people by the Red Dwarfs.

Un and Zur wandered along the stream all day long underground river. Often its shore was just a narrow stone cornice. Sometimes we had to crawl through a narrow corridor of porphyry, gneiss, and basalt. Zur lit a resin torch from the branches of a turpentine tree, and the crimson flame was reflected in the sparkling quartz arches and in the rapidly flowing waters of the underground stream. Bending over the black water, they watched the pale, colorless animals swimming in it, then walked further, to the place where the road was blocked by a blank granite wall, from under which an underground river noisily burst out. Un and Zur stood for a long time in front of the black wall. How they wanted to overcome this mysterious barrier that the Ulamr tribe encountered six years ago, during their migration from north to south.

Un, the son of the Bull, belonged, according to the custom of the tribe, to his mother's brother. But he preferred his father Nao, the son of Leopard, from whom he inherited a powerful build, tireless lungs and extraordinary acuity of feelings. His hair fell over his shoulders in thick, coarse strands, like the mane of a wild horse; the eyes were the color of gray clay. His enormous physical strength made him a dangerous opponent. But even more than Nao, Un was inclined to be generous if the defeated person lay prostrate on the ground in front of him. Therefore, the Ulamrs, while paying tribute to the strength and courage of Un, treated him with some disdain.

He always hunted alone or together with Zur, whom the Ulamrs despised for his weakness, although no one knew so skillfully how to find stones suitable for making fire and how to make tinder from the soft core of a tree.

Zur had a narrow, flexible body, like a lizard. His shoulders were so sloping that his arms seemed to come straight out of his body. Since time immemorial, all the Vas, the tribe of Men Without Shoulders, have looked like this. Zur thought slowly, but his mind was more sophisticated than that of the people of the Ulamr tribe.

Zur loved being in underground caves even more than Un. His ancestors and the ancestors of his ancestors had always lived in lands abounding in streams and rivers, some of which disappeared under the hills or were lost in the depths of the mountain ranges.

One morning friends were wandering along the river bank. They saw the crimson ball of the sun rise above the horizon and golden light flood the surrounding area. Zur knew that he liked to follow the rushing waves; Un, however, surrendered to this pleasure unconsciously. They headed towards the underground caves. The mountains rose right in front of them - high and inaccessible. Steep, sharp peaks stretched like an endless wall from north to south, and nowhere was a passage visible between them. Un and Zur, like the entire Ulamr tribe, passionately dreamed of overcoming this indestructible barrier.

For more than fifteen years, the Ulamrs, having left their native places, wandered from the northwest to the southeast. Moving south, they soon noticed that the further they went, the richer the land became, and the more abundant the spoils. And gradually people got used to this endless journey.

But a huge one stood in their way Mountain chain, and the tribe's advance south stopped. The Ulamrs searched in vain for a passage among the impregnable stone peaks.

Un and Zur sat down to rest in the reeds, under the black poplars. Three mammoths, huge and majestic, walked along the opposite bank of the river. Antelopes could be seen running in the distance; The rhinoceros appeared from behind a rocky ledge. Excitement took over Nao's son. How he wanted to overcome the space separating him from his prey!

Sighing, he stood up and walked upstream, followed by Zur. Soon they found themselves in front of a dark hole in the rock, from where a river was noisily gushing out. The bats rushed into the darkness, frightened by the appearance of people.

Excited by a thought that suddenly came into his head, Un said to Zur:

There are other lands beyond the mountains!

Zur replied:

The river flows from sunny countries.

People without shoulders have long known that all rivers and streams have a beginning and an end.

The blue darkness of the cave gave way to the darkness of an underground labyrinth. Xur lit one of the resinous branches he had taken with him. But the friends could have done without light - they knew every turn of the underground path so well.

Un and Zur walked all day through gloomy passages along the course of an underground river, jumping over pits and crevices, and in the evening they fell soundly asleep on the shore, having dined on crayfish baked in ash.

At night they were awakened by a sudden shock that seemed to come from the very depths of the mountain. The roar of falling stones and the crackling of crumbling rocks could be heard. Then there was silence. And, not being able to figure out what was going on, the friends fell asleep again.

Vague memories took possession of Zur.

The earth shook,” he said.

Un did not understand Zur’s words and did not try to understand their meaning. His thoughts were short and swift. He could only think about the obstacles that were immediately in front of him, or about the prey he was pursuing. His impatience grew, and he quickened his steps, so that Zur could barely keep up with him. Long before the end of the second day they reached the place where a blank stone wall usually blocked their path.

Xur lit a new resinous torch. A bright flame illuminated the high wall, reflected in countless fractures of the quartz rock.

An astonished exclamation escaped both young men: there was a wide crack in the stone wall!

This is because the earth shook,” said Zur.

With one leap, Un found himself at the edge of the crack. The passage was wide enough to let a person through. Un knew what treacherous traps lurked in the newly split rocks. But his impatience was so great that he, without thinking, squeezed into the blackened stone gap in front of him, so narrow that it was possible to move forward with great difficulty. Zur followed the son of the Bull. Love for his friend made him forget his natural caution.

Soon the passage became so narrow and low that they could barely squeeze between the stones, bent over, almost crawling. The air was hot and stuffy, it was becoming more and more difficult to breathe... Suddenly a sharp ledge of a rock blocked their path.

Angered, Un pulled a stone ax from his belt and struck it at the rocky ledge with such force as if there was an enemy in front of him. The rock shook, and the young men realized that it could be moved. Zur, sticking his torch into a crevice in the wall, began to help Un. The rock began to shake more. They pushed her with all their might. There was a crash, stones fell... The rock swayed and... they heard the dull sound of a heavy block falling. The path was clear.

Having rested a little, the friends moved on. The passage gradually widened. Soon Un and Zur were able to straighten up to their full height, and it became easier to breathe. Finally they found themselves in a vast cave. Un rushed forward with all his might, but soon the darkness forced him to stop: Zur with his torch could not keep up with his fleet-footed friend. But the delay was short-lived. The impatience of the Bull's son was transmitted to the Man without Shoulders, and they moved on with long steps, almost running.

Soon a faint light appeared ahead. It intensified as the young men approached him. Suddenly Un and Zur found themselves at the exit of the cave. In front of them stretched a narrow corridor formed by two sheer granite walls. Above, high above our heads, a strip of dazzling blue sky was visible.

But now a detailed article on these beasts has arrived with preliminary results of the study of the find:

"Development Arctic zone Russia in last years brings quite a lot of discoveries of ancient frozen mummies of Ice Age mammals. Nevertheless, the discovery of two cave lion cubs in Yakutia in the summer of 2015 became a real sensation. Never before have mummies of ancient lions from the Pleistocene period fallen into the hands of scientists.

Thanks to finds in different parts of the Old World, it is known that ancient cats in Eurasia lived in an area stretching from the New Siberian Islands to China and from Spain to Alaska.

At the end of the ice age, another name for which is the Pleistocene period, the ancient lion lived among the tundra steppes along with such animals as mammoths, musk oxen and reindeer, and was the strongest and dangerous predator. It refers to biological species Panthera spelaea(Goldfuss, 1810) cat family ( Felidae), squad carnivorous mammals (Carnivora), which became extinct at the end ice age. The morphology of the cave lion simultaneously combines the features of a lion and a tiger. The debate about which of the big cats this animal is closer to is still ongoing. But it is important to note that he was not the ancestor of either modern lions, no tigers.

The Russian names for these extinct animals are cave lion, Pleistocene lion, tiger lion. The latter was given by the Russian paleontologist N.K. Vereshchagin, who was one of the first to note the transitional exterior ancient lion- intermediate appearance between modern lion and tiger. Scientific name Panthera spelaea predator received because for the first time its bones were found in caves (from lat. spelaea- caves) of Europe at the beginning of the century, and to this day only one complete skeleton of this animal is known
extinct species, found in Bavaria.

Judging by the drawings of the Paleolithic era and the morphology of its bones, the cave lion was similar in appearance to females of modern African and Asiatic lions and partly to modern Far Eastern tigers. The cave lion is characterized by a relatively larger head than that of modern lions and tigers. This confirms the relationship between the size of the skull of the ancient animal and the size of other bones of its skeleton. In addition, the skull of the ancient lion was relatively longer and narrower than that of lions and tigers, so its muzzle was narrower and longer.

The most realistic depiction of cave lions in the Chauvé Cave,
France, Ardèche province. The age of the drawings is more than 30 thousand years.

According to the images of the cave lion made by the first artists, ancient predator He was of a dense build with developed subcutaneous fat on his stomach, which sagged like that of Amur tigers. Another feature of cave lions is that they are relatively long length their limbs. It is also known from images from caves in Europe that there were faint spots on the sides of the body, but the overall color of the coat was uniform, the tail was shorter than that of a modern lion, and without a spherical tassel at the end. Ancient artists never depicted cave lions with manes and only sometimes emphasized the presence of short hair and even “suspension” under lower jaw. The hair growth patterns on the head of the Pleistocene lion resemble those of the Far Eastern tiger. He had small rounded ears and sideburns, which were especially emphasized by ancient artists.

In size, the cave lion was on average larger than modern lions and tigers. However, Pleistocene lions different populations were different from each other. In Europe they were no larger than modern ones African lions and apparently weighed no more than 200-250 kg. Among the cave lions of Siberia and the Urals, sometimes there were giants with a skull length of more than 40 cm. The weight of such lions was at least 350 kg, and the height at the withers was about 140-150 cm. The length of the upper fangs of the ancient animal (including the root) reached 14 cm - such predators could hunt any animal of that era.

Leos - close and distant relatives
In North America, cave lions lived in the territory of modern Alaska and western Canada. In the more southern regions of this continent lived another species of lions - Panthera atrox(Leidy, 1810), whose name translated from Latin means “terrible lion.” There are no pictures of this lion, and its appearance can only be inferred from its bones and several complete skeletons found in asphalt pit traps* at the Rancho La Brea site in Los Angeles. About 10 thousand years ago, after the end of the Pleistocene period, this predator in America became extinct along with many other species of large mammals.

* In the late Pleistocene, at the foot of the hills, in the area now called Hollywood, there were swamps into which oil poured out, coming to the surface under pressure. Animals attracted by the water came there and stuck (literally) to the oil, which thickened under the influence of atmospheric oxygen and turned into bitumen. After death, they were gradually immersed in bitumen, where their bones were preserved.

A study of mitochondrial DNA in modern and fossil lions showed that they form two groups. One group includes modern subspecies of lions from Africa and Asia, the other includes Pleistocene lions of Eurasia and the north North America. In addition, based on the results of a molecular genetic study of the remains of lions of the second half of the Pleistocene from the northeast of Eurasia and Alaska, biologists came to the conclusion that the Pleistocene lions of this region (in the second half of the Pleistocene they formed a single region - Beringia) are closer to the Eurasian cave lions than to the Pleistocene dire lions of the rest of North America.

Using the DNA of Pleistocene and modern lions and paleontological finds of these ancient predators, experts describe their history as follows. The oldest cats, resembling lions, appeared in Africa more than 2 million years ago. From here they settled into Eurasia, where the Mosbach lion lived about 500 thousand years ago ( Panthera fossilis, Reichenau, 1906). The cave lions, which originally lived in Europe, apparently originated from this species of predatory cats. The lions that remained in Africa after migration by the end of the Pleistocene formed the species of modern African lions, which spread from there to Eurasia.

The next stage in the evolution of cave lions is associated with the spread of this species to the northeast of Eurasia and its adaptation to a cold climate. The subspecies of the cave lion, which lived in the north of Yakutia 70-10 thousand years ago, was somewhat smaller than modern lions, and it belongs to the subspecies Baryshnikov et Boeskorov, 2013, named after paleontologist N.K. Vereshchagin. Like the European subspecies, the Yakut cave lion became extinct about 10 thousand years ago.

The post-glacial history of lions is associated with only two modern subspecies of these cats: African ( Panthera leo leo J. A. All n, 1924) and Asian ( Panthera leo persica Meyer, 1826) by lions. The African lion (thought to include several subspecies) is 20-25% larger than the Asiatic lion, and its males have large manes. Male Asiatic lions have smaller or no manes. The body length of the African lion without the length of the tail reaches 170-250 cm in males and 140-175 cm in females. Shoulder height is about 123 cm in males and 107 cm in females. The weight of large males can reach 250 kg.

Modern lions moved to Transcaucasia and Southwestern Europe when cave lions had already become extinct here. Although evidence of this settlement is limited, it is supported by archaeological finds showing that lions lived in southeastern Europe and the northern Black Sea region in the first millennia BC.

Finds of lion bones are known in the settlements of the Trypillian culture in the territory modern Ukraine(VI-III millennium BC), and one find was made in the ancient settlement of Olbia (IV-II centuries BC) in the vicinity of the city of Nikolaev. Images of lions on ancient works of art from the continental part of Greece and among the Scythians of the Northern Black Sea region indicate that at that time these animals were well known to people. On Balkan Peninsula lion bones are found during excavations of settlements of the 2nd-1st millennium BC. e., and most famous image ancient Greece - the Nemean lion, killed by the mythical hero Hercules in the mountains of Kiferon (eastern Balkan Peninsula). In Transcaucasia the maximum distribution modern species Lviv dates back to the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. e. Petroglyphs on the territory of Armenia show that lions in Transcaucasia during this era lived in the Armenian Highlands. Interestingly, images of lions from Armenia depict animals with a large mane, like the African lion.

The disappearance of lions in Asia Minor, Transcaucasia and Southeast Europe occurred at the turn of our era. Unlike the extinction of the cave lion, the extinction of modern lion subspecies is not due to climate change, but to human activity. Rapid population growth, changing landscapes, the extermination of herbivorous mammals that feed on big cats, and active human hunting of lions appear to be the main reasons for the disappearance of these animals in many areas of Eurasia.

In addition to direct archaeological data on lions historical period there is one ancient Russian written source suggesting that these predators were widespread not only in the Northern Black Sea region, but also in the forest-steppe zone of the middle reaches of the Dnieper. In "Instructions for Children", written by the great prince of Kyiv Vladimir Monomakh, there is a mention large predator. "Teaching..." is of particular interest because it is the only secular work of art Ancient Rus', containing details of life of that era not found in the chronicles. Monomakh describes an incident that happened to him while hunting during his reign in Turov and Chernigov (1073-1094): “A fierce beast jumped on my hips and overturned the horse with me, and God kept me unharmed.”

Monomakh does not call the attacking predator by his own name, unlike other animals mentioned in the “Instruction...”: wild bulls, tarpans, deer, boars, bears, wolves. The lack of a name for the animal suggests that it was rare at that time. Despite the brevity of the description, the predator’s ability to jump and the strength that allows it to knock down a rider and horse to the ground show that it could not have been any of the predatory animals mentioned in the “Instruction...” - a bear or a wolf. This makes it possible to assume that the “fierce beast” was the lion. Low population of the forest-steppe zone of the Dnieper and Don basins, a large number of large mammals most likely created the conditions for the existence of separate populations of lions in the area until the early Middle Ages.

Tiger lion cubs from the Uyandina River
Despite the fact that lions have been known to man since ancient times, quite a lot in the history and ecology of even modern lions remains poorly understood. At the same time, the Asiatic lion subspecies is already on the verge of extinction, and its range African subspecies by the end of the 20th century it decreased by more than three times. Data on animals that have become extinct on Earth over the past 10-12 thousand years are very important, as they can help understand the reason for the current decrease in biological diversity. In particular, any finds of cave lions are interesting for determining the characteristics of the habitat and the reasons for the extinction of this species.

Two frozen mummies of a cave lion cub were found in the Abyisky region of Yakutia. The location is located on the right bank of the small Uyandina River, one of the left tributaries of the Indigirka River, approximately 25 km from the village of Abyi. Finding lion cubs - great luck, because mummies of carnivorous mammals of the Pleistocene period were not known before. The cubs were found in sediments dating back to the end of the Pleistocene period, which most likely indicates that it is a subspecies of the Yakut cave lion Panthera spelaea vereshchagini.

In recent years, interesting discoveries of frozen mummies of animals of the Pleistocene period have been made by collectors of mammoth tusks. Collection of mammoth bones - traditional look economic activity population of Yakutia. At the end of July 2015, cave lion cubs were accidentally discovered by a team of subsoil users led by entrepreneur Yakov Androsov during work on artificial thawing of one of the sections of the bank of the Uyandina River. In August 2015, the mummies were delivered to Yakutsk, where paleontologists from the Research Department began to study them mammoth fauna Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

One of the finds is a complete and intact frozen mummy with fur. It can be used to describe appearance and the morphology of the calf. The second cub's mummy was damaged, most likely by ice wedges within the sediments in which it was buried. The head and part of the third of the body with one paw in front of it have been preserved. The estimated age of the lion cubs is one to three weeks. This conclusion can be drawn if you pay attention to the fact that the entire found cave lion cub has half-open eyes. Modern lion cubs are born blind and their eyes open completely after about two weeks. In addition, computer scans of both finds revealed that their baby teeth had not yet erupted (modern lion cubs erupt their baby teeth three weeks after birth).

The soft tissues and fur of the cub are very well preserved. Immediately after the discovery, it was possible to straighten the tail and measure its length - approximately 7 cm, which is about a third of the body length. This is slightly less than that of modern lion cubs (about 3/5 of the body length). The claws are preserved on the front and hind legs. Realizing the importance of their find, the team members, after examining, photographing and weighing, kept the mummies of lion cubs frozen, at a temperature of about −10 o C. They are preserved in a frozen state to this day for future research.

The cause of death of the ancient lion cubs has not yet been established. In the near future, they will be further examined on a computer tomograph, but a preliminary similar study has already shown that there are no significant damages in the skeleton of the fully preserved cub. The gender of an ancient lion cub, like that of modern lion cubs, is up to one and a half months external signs cannot be determined.

At the age of one to two weeks, the cubs of modern lions remain helpless and completely dependent on their mother. The mother not only feeds them milk, but also protects and warms them in cold weather, because lion cubs have not yet fully developed their thermoregulation mechanism. Before the cubs begin to walk (after 1.5-2 months), the lioness stays at some distance from her group (pride), and during the course of a month she moves the babies several times from one place to another to avoid increasing the smell in the den, which lion cubs can be found by other predators.

Cave lions of Yakutia
Although the lifestyle of the ancient lion of Yakutia remains little known, some of its features can be judged now - after a preliminary study of the found lion cubs.

These predators lived in cold climates, so their cubs were covered with thick and longer fur than the cubs of modern lions. The short tail and relatively small ears are also adaptations to cold climates. In mammals living in similar climatic conditions, tail length and ear size are smaller than in related species living in warm climate. In addition, from the cubs found, it is clear that the Yakut cave lion cubs had long limbs and they themselves were taller than their modern peers.

Scientists hope to learn about other features of the life of cave lions in Yakutia as they study the finds, and some can be guessed from their lifestyle modern relatives. One of the exciting questions is the structure of groups (prides) of cave lions.

The idea that cave lions did not form prides was expressed by American paleontologist Dale Guthrie. He was the first to notice that in African lions the formation of a large pride correlates with the size of the dominant male’s mane. This secondary sexual characteristic is an indicator of the male’s ability to form a pride and protect the territory he occupies. For example, the small size of the Asiatic lion's mane reflects the fact that this subspecies rarely forms groups consisting of more than two females, and in African lions - owners of a large mane - a pride sometimes includes 20 females.

Evidence of fights between male Pleistocene lions, sometimes found on their bones, suggests that the males of these animals actively defended their territory, as do, for example, tigers. In the territory of a male tiger (an area of ​​more than 100 km2), two or three tigresses can constantly live, and the male has to constantly defend his territory from the invasion of other males. The result of such fights: male tigers rarely live past ten years. Judging by the shoulder blade of a cave lion from Chukotka, collisions of males with each other were common.

Like others large mammals At the end of the Pleistocene period, cave lions in Yakutia lived in the tundra-steppe. At the same time, numerous finds of bones of these lions in caves in Europe indicate that they lived not only on the plains. In Yakutia, lions apparently made a den in dense thickets willow grass in river valleys or in thickets of low-growing trees in ravines and ravines, where it was easier to hide the cubs.

Probably, the main method of hunting of Pleistocene lions was to stealth the victim, when the lion would sneak up on it to a distance of a short throw of 20-50 m, and then overtake and kill it with several jumps. Areas of very rough terrain and watering holes were the most convenient for such hunts. The Alaskan cave lion was found to hunt large animals. Here, in permafrost The frozen mummy of a male primeval bison, partially eaten by lions, has been preserved. Surprisingly, the methods of hunting buffaloes by ancient lions did not differ from the methods of hunting buffaloes by modern African lions. Judging by the bites and scratches on the bison's skin, it is clear that the cave lions acted in concert: one predator stopped the bison, holding it by the croup with its claws, and the other strangled it, grabbing it by the muzzle, clamping the bison's mouth and nostrils with its teeth and claws.

Recently, evidence has emerged that cave lions have even attacked young mammoths. On the skin of the mammoth Yuki (absolute age about 35 thousand years) found in Yakutia in 2010, scratches more than 10 cm long were found in the neck, legs and chest, left by the claws of a cave lion, piercing almost through the centimeter-long skin. Yuka, although she was a young seven-year-old female, weighed more than 500 kg with a height at the withers of about 160 cm. Scratches on the skin themselves were not the cause of her death, but may have greatly weakened the animal.

The DNA of the discovered mummies of cave lion cubs will have to be studied in detail. internal organs and soft tissues. A thorough examination of the lion cub, for example, of the size of the stomach and its contents will help explain the cause of its death. In the very near future, the result of determining the absolute age of this unique find using radioactive carbon from lion cub fur samples is also expected.

Candidate biological sciences Evgeniy Mashchenko, Paleontological Institute named after. A. A. Borisyak RAS;
Doctor of Biological Sciences Gennady Boeskorov, Institute of Diamond Geology and noble metals Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences;
Olga Potapova, curator of collections at the Mammoth Site Museum in Hot Springs, USA;
Candidate of Biological Sciences Albert Protopopov, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), “Science and Life”, No. 6, 2016

Physician and naturalist Georg August Goldfuss, who found the skull of a cave lion in Franconian Alba.

In Soviet paleontology, on the initiative of Nikolai Vereshchagin, the cave lion was called tigrolev.

Spreading

In Europe, the first lions appeared about 700,000 years ago and belonged to the subspecies Panthera leo fossilis, the so-called Mosbach lion. The fact that it is sometimes also called the cave lion can be misleading. As a rule, the term cave lion refers to a later subspecies Panthera leo spelaea. Mosbach lions reached a length of up to 2.4 m excluding the tail and were half a meter larger than modern lions. They were the size of a liger. From this large subspecies came the cave lion, which appeared about 300,000 years ago. It was distributed throughout northern Eurasia and even during the glaciations penetrated deep to the north. In the northeast of Eurasia, a separate subspecies has formed, the so-called East Siberian cave lion ( ), which reached the American continent through the then existing land connection between Chukotka and Alaska. Spreading south, it evolved into the American lion ( Panthera leo atrox). The East Siberian cave lion became extinct at the end of the last major glaciation about 10 thousand years ago. The European cave lion probably became extinct during the same period, but it is possible that it persisted for some time on the Balkan Peninsula. Regarding the lions that existed on it until the beginning of our era, it is unknown whether they were cave lions.

Appearance

The skeleton of an adult male cave lion, found in 1985 near Siegsdorf, Germany, had a height at the withers of 1.20 m and a length of 2.1 m excluding the tail. This corresponds to a very large modern lion. At the same time, the Siegsdorf lion was inferior to many of its relatives. Cave lions were on average 5-10% superior to modern lions, but did not reach huge size Mosbach lions and American lions. Stone Age cave paintings allow us to draw some conclusions about the coloring of the fur and mane of the cave lion. Particularly impressive images of lions have been found in southern France in the Chauvet cave in the Ardèche department, as well as in the Vogelherdhöhle cave in the Swabian Alb. Ancient drawings of cave lions always show them without a mane, which suggests that, unlike their African or Indian relatives, they either did not have one, or it was not as impressive. Often this image shows the characteristic tuft on the tail of lions. The coloring of the fur, apparently, was one color.

A well-preserved corpse of a lion cub at the age of several months was discovered in Yakutia, as well as two more slightly worse-preserved specimens.

Lifestyle

Relatives

Unlike the Mosbach lion, regarding the classification of which as Panthera leo fossilis There has always been unanimity among scientists; there has been a long debate about the cave lion, whether it is a lion, a tiger, or even whether it should be distinguished as a separate species. In 2004, German scientists were able to unambiguously identify it using DNA analysis as a subspecies of lion. Thus, the dispute that had existed since the first description of this animal in 1810 was ended. However, the Pleistocene lions of the north formed their own group, distinct from the lions of Africa and Southeast Asia. To this so-called group Spelaea included the Mosbach lion ( P.l. fossilis), cave lion ( P.l. spelaea), East Siberian lion ( P.l. vereshchagini) and American lion ( P.l. atrox). All modern subspecies of lions belong to the group Leo. Both groups separated about 600 thousand years ago. Individual fossil specimens of an extinct American lion were larger than the Mosbach lion and thus were one of the most major representatives felines that have ever existed. Previously they were considered a separate species, called giant