The first of these known sub species to become extinct was the European Lion, its existence being recorded as far back as the 5th Century BC in the writings of the Greek historian, Hefodotus. This early natural historian noted that the lion existed in great numbers in ancient Europe including eastern Europe.

Where man setaed in large numbers the lion populations shrunk and by the 2nd Century A.D. and possibly even earlier, the European Lion was extinct. Since then two more species have been lost, the Bafbary Lion and the Cape Lion. These two lion species inhabited the modern day northern and southern limits of the lion's range.