Thrown to the Lions

[Robert]

Well, it would not be unlikely for big cats not to attack if their hunting instinct was not invoked by the captive. If the condemmed man or woman stood their ground, the animal, having been in contact with humans before and not seeing these as prey, would most likely not attack. The arena with all the noise would be an unsettling environment for them. I have read a report somewhere that they kept special lions etc. as excecutioners, these having been trained to kill the condemmed and accustomed to the arena. These lions fetched a good price and were not used for anything else.

Side note: A bull is a herbivour and thus color blind. So the red cloth is a total mith, it is the flapping movement that invokes the charge..