Were lions roaming in Northern Europe in ancient times?
Modern lions—Panthera leo—don't. But a cat with close relatives or even bigger did.
Panthera spelea, commonly known as the cave lion, appeared in much of Europe, northern Asia, and Alaska during the Pleistocene period. Its ancestors appear to have genetically diverged from modern lions about 1.9 million years ago, so there was plenty of time to evolve into a unique species. It is estimated that cave lions are on average 12% larger than P. leo. Another difference is that, as cave art suggests (see below), males may lack a lot of mane. Overall, it is still a very similar animal.
Below is a map of the projection range of the Ice Age Cave Lion. Note that they are not at the northernmost point of Europe; this is because these areas are buried by large areas of ice.
I can't find any maps of their extent during the interglacial period, but it stands to reason that they would have been further norther by then. After all, during those periods, the tundra grassland habitats they called home retreated to higher latitudes. This ecosystem also supports the prey on which P. Spelea depends, such as reindeer, prairie bison, wild horses, musk oxen, and saiga antelope.
So, lions didn't roam in northern Europe in ancient times, but a very similar cat did.
