Ancient man survived brutal lion attack, suffered lifelong damage: 'Extremely rare'

Archaeologists recently uncovered the remains of a young man who lived 6,000 years ago — and survived a brutal encounter with a lion.

A study published in the February 2026 edition of the peer-reviewed Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports focuses on a Late Eneolithic necropolis in the Thracian region of eastern Bulgaria.

The subject of the study is the skeleton of a man who died between the ages of 18 and 30. He was more than 5 feet 7 inches tall and lived between 4600 and 4200 B.C., during the Late Eneolithic.

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The grave is near another archaeological site called Kozareva Mogila, or the Goat Mound, near the coast of the Black Sea.

Upon analyzing the skeleton, researchers identified severe cranial and limb injuries — including puncture wounds on the man's skull.

Those wounds suggest an attack by a large carnivore — and interestingly, the wounds appeared to have healed, meaning he survived the encounter.

The study authors said the injury occurred during adolescence, possibly between the ages of 10 and 18.

Nadezhda Karastoyanova, a paleontologist at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia, told Fox News Digital that lions were present in eastern Bulgaria during the Late Eneolithic period.

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Karastoyanova headed the zooarchaeological analysis — and credited her colleagues Veselin Danov, Petya Petrova and Viktoria Ruseva with documenting, interpreting and analyzing the skeleton, respectively.

"There is direct archaeological evidence for interactions between humans and lions," said Karastoyanova. "More than 15 lion remains have been identified at prehistoric sites across Bulgaria, some bearing cut marks that indicate hunting and dismemberment."

She added, "The highest concentration of lion remains comes from sites along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, such as Durankulak and the Sozopol area. Where this individual was buried lies within the same broader region, making encounters between humans and large predators a realistic possibility."

She observed that such skeletal evidence of prehistoric animal attacks on humans is "extremely rare."

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"In this case, the skeletal trauma not only survived in the archaeological record but also shows clear signs of healing, indicating long-term survival," she said.

The cranial injuries "likely caused neurological consequences," she added, possibly including epileptic seizures.

"Combined with other impairments, these injuries would have made independent survival impossible [and] strongly suggest prolonged care and support from the surrounding community."

Karastoyanova was struck by the fact that the man survived for months after the attack — which she said "provides rare insight into resilience and social caregiving in Eneolithic societies."

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Interestingly, Karastoyanova noted that the man's grave is among the poorest in the necropolis, with no grave goods.

"This contrasts sharply with the nearby Varna Eneolithic Necropolis, dating to the same period, which contains some of the world’s earliest and richest gold burials," she said.

"This juxtaposition highlights the strong social diversity of Eneolithic societies, where wealth inequality coexisted with evidence for care and support of vulnerable individuals."

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Archaeological evidence of lion-inflicted injuries is rare, but not without precedent.

Last spring, excavators found that a skeleton from a Roman cemetery outside of York, England, bore signs of a lion wound.