Did gladiators ever kill lions?
On the second day, the festivities moved to the Colosseum, where a further 400 lions and 300 bears were exhibited and killed. To the modern world, such wholesale slaughter of animals seems both cruel and unacceptable. However, this was merely part of life in a society where animals were regularly slaughtered in public.
Did gladiators fight lions or tigers?
Tangling with wild beasts was reserved for the “venatores” and “bestiarii,” special classes of warrior who squared off against everything from deer and ostriches to lions, crocodiles, bears and even elephants.
Did gladiators fight animals?
Some gladiatorial contests included animals such as bears, rhinos, tigers, elephants, and giraffes. Most often, hungry animals fought other hungry animals. But sometimes hungry animals fought against gladiators in contests called venationes (“wild beast hunts”).
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