Not to be confused with the Eurasian cave lion, which is sometimes known simply as the European lion.
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The European lion (Panthera leo fossilis), also known as the fossil lion (after being originally first discovered as fossils), is a subspecies of lion (Panthera leo) that originally lived in mainland Europe, western Asia, and Great Britain during the Upper Pleistocene, and was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and reintroduced throughout its former range to help boost biodiversity. The European lion is larger than either African or Asian lions, reaching lengths of about 8.2 feet (2.5 meters), the shoulder height of 4.4 feet (135 centimeters) in height, and weighing around 350-400 kilograms, with the ones living in Siberia being somewhat larger than the European lions of central or western Europe. European lions spend much of their time resting; they are inactive for about twenty hours per day. Although European lions can be active at any time, their activity generally peaks after dusk with a period of socialising, grooming and defecating. Intermittent bursts of activity continue until dawn, when hunting most often takes place. They spend an average of two hours a day walking and fifty minutes eating. The European lion is a generalist hypercarnivore and is considered to be both an apex and keystone predator due to its wide prey spectrum. Its prey consists mainly of mammals—particularly ungulates—weighing 190–550 kg (420–1,210 lb) with a preference for deer, wild horses, bison, aurochs, chalicotheres, and giraffids. European lions also hunt wild boars (Sus scrofa) and European bushpigs (Potamochoerus magnus) depending on availability, although the species is below the preferred weight range. Like other lion subspecies, the European lion is a social animal that lives in large packs known as prides. The conservation status of the European lion is Near Threatened due to slight habitat loss and historic poaching, however, thanks to the conservationists, the European lion is a protected species.