Recent excavations in the Balazote plain revealed a tomb and burial mound where this piece may have originated.

The body is in repose and shows good knowledge of the traits of that animal, with the forelegs bent under the chest and hind legs tucked under the belly.

The piece is not carved in entirely in the round; one corner appears to be ashlar and designed to adhere to some place, like the lions of the Mausoleum of Pozo Moro.

According to A. García and Bellido, the Bicha represents the Greek river god Achelous whose image on Sicilian coins it resembles.

"This sculpture is a daughter of the Greeks, and if you will, granddaughter of the Phoenicians and great-granddaughter of Mesopotamia," A. García and Bellido observed in 1931.