Study Reveals Lions Roamed Japan Thousands of Years Ago

(MENAFN) Researchers have discovered that lions once inhabited large areas of Japan tens of thousands of years ago, after fossils previously believed to belong to tigers were reclassified as an extinct species of lion.

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences analyzed DNA and proteins from fossils long attributed to tigers and found they actually belonged to cave lions, according to reports. Scientists examined organic material from 26 subfossils across Japan and compared mitochondrial and nuclear DNA and protein samples from five of them with global datasets, confirming all were cave lion remains.

“Our findings challenge the long-held view that tigers once took refuge in Japan, showing instead that cave lions were widespread in northeast Asia during this period,” said researchers from institutions including the Graduate University for Advanced Studies and Peking University.

Lions left Africa roughly one million years ago, spreading across Eurasia and reaching Japan between 73,000 and 38,000 years ago, when lower sea levels connected the archipelago to the mainland. Fossils from Yamaguchi Prefecture indicate they reached western Japan. Humans arrived around 40,000 to 35,000 years ago, and cave lions likely went extinct approximately 10,000 years ago.

“The findings are significant in terms of studying interaction between lions and tigers and their influence on ecosystems,” said Takumi Tsutaya, assistant professor at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies.

Large feline fossils have been found throughout Japan, from Aomori Prefecture in the north to Oita Prefecture in the south, but were long assumed to be tiger remains due to the country’s warm, humid climate.

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