The cave lion was the apex predator of the Pleistocene so-called ‘Ice Age Mega-Fauna’, and roamed across Eurasia and North America.

It was one of the largest cats of all time, reaching up to 120 cm at the withers, 210 cm in length (excluding the tail), and weighing between 200 to 350 kg. On average, it was 5-10% larger than today’s lions.

Recent genetic analyses of fossil DNA have shown that, of all present-day felids, the prehistoric specimen is most closely related to the modern lion, while being a different species that diverged from it around 1.9 million years ago.

Its anatomy is well-documented in prehistoric art, which reveals that males differ from modern-day lions in lacking a mane.

This specimen is a very old female showing traces of a hard life. During her life, the subject suffered a broken right canine, leaving her with only one upper canine for hunting. Additionally, two of her vertebrae display healed bite marks, indicating the challenges she faced in order to survive during this period.

This specimen is not a composite, but all the bones belong to one and only one specimen. The only restoration consists in the right zygomatic as shown on the pictures of the skeleton before restoration. The total size of the mount is 82 cm long.