[5][6][7][8] Panthera spelaea interacted with both Neanderthals and modern humans, who used their pelts and in the case of the latter, depicted them in artistic works.

[11][1][4] Several anatomical studies of remains of Panthera spelaea were conducted during the early-mid 19th century, who found the morphology of the species most similar to lions, tigers and jaguars.

[2] Results from morphological studies showed that it is distinct in cranial and dental anatomy to justify the specific status of Panthera spelaea.

[18][19][20] In 2001, the subspecies Panthera spelaea vereshchagini was proposed for seven specimens found in Siberia and Yukon, which have smaller skulls and teeth than the average P.

The oldest widely accepted fossils of P. fossilis in Europe date to around 700,000-600,000 years ago, such as that from Pakefield in England,[24][25][3][26] with possible older fossils from Western Siberia dating to the late Early Pleistocene,[27] with a 2024 study suggesting a presence in Spain by 1 million years ago during the latest Early Pleistocene around the same age as the Siberian specimen.

[25] The transition from P. fossilis to Late Pleistocene P. spelaea shows significant reduction in body size, as well as changes in skull and tooth morphology.

[4] Early members of the cave lion lineage assigned to Panthera (spelaea) fossilis during the Middle Pleistocene were considerably larger than individuals of P. spelaea from the Last Glacial Period and modern lions, with some of these individuals having an estimated length of 2.5–2.9 metres (8.2–9.5 ft), shoulder height of 1.4–1.5 metres (4.6–4.9 ft) and body mass of 400–500 kilograms (880–1,100 lb), respectively, making them among the largest cats to have ever lived.

[30][38] P. spelaea had a relatively longer and narrower muzzle compared to that of the extant lion, with the zygomatic region being strongly arched, with the carnassial teeth having differences in cusp morphology (displaying preparastyles).

[23] During the Last Glacial Period, P. spelaea formed a contiguous population across the mammoth steppe, from Western Europe to northwest North America.

[4] The cave lion had a wide elevation range, with finds extending up over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level in the European Alps and in Buryatia in Northern Asia, though they probably did not occupy mountainous habitats all-year round.

[54] P. spelaea was one of the keystone species of the mammoth steppe, being one of the main apex predators alongside the gray wolf, cave hyena and brown bear.

[60][59] Isotopic analyses of bone collagen samples extracted from remains in Europe[61][56] and East Beringia[62] indicate that reindeer were particularly prominent in the diet of cave lions in these regions during the Last Glacial Period.

[38] Isotopic analysis of other European specimens suggests a diet including wild horse, woolly mammoth and cave bears for these individuals.

[63] Bite marks found on the bones of straight-tusked elephants in Neumark Nord, Germany, dating to the Last Interglacial, have been suggested to be the result of scavenging by cave lions.

With canine dimensions suggests that their sexual dimorphism was either similar or exceeded lions, and possibly lived in larger prides.

This timing roughly corresponds to the onset of the Bølling–Allerød Interstadial warm period and the consequent collapse of the mammoth steppe ecosystem.

[38] Cave lions appear to have undergone a population bottleneck that considerably reduced their genetic diversity between 47,000 and 18,000 years ago, probably driven at least in part by climatic instability.

In 2008, a well-preserved mature cave lion specimen was unearthed near the Maly Anyuy River in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, which still retained some clumps of hair.

[75] In 2015, two frozen cave lion cubs, estimated to be between 25,000 and 55,000 years old, were discovered close to the Uyandina River in Yakutia, Siberia in permafrost.

[76][77][78] Research results indicate that the cubs were likely barely a week old at the time of their deaths, as their milk teeth had not fully erupted.

Further evidence suggests the cubs were hidden at a den site until they were strong enough to follow their mother back to the pride, as with modern lions.