Lion Lions were a species of carnivorous mammal in the feline family . Natural prey for lions included zebra ( PROSE : " Birthright " ) — though they would certainly attack human s . ( TV : " The Romans " ) The Fifth Doctor indicated that , unlike other Terran animal s ( such as the horse ) , lions were unique to Earth . ( AUDIO : " The Bride of Peladon " ) Biology . Lions were carnivore s . They had canine teeth , which were used for spearing and ripping through meat . Lions used them for catching their prey . They also had incisor s , which were used for cutting up food . Their molar s were used for grinding up food and their pre - molar s were used for chewing food . ( WC : " Teeth and Eating " ) Encounters with real lions . The Doctor and his companion s occasionally encountered lions , though typically specimens were caged in zoo s or otherwise held in captivity . The Doctor . When the Tenth Doctor and June visited Greece in the 16th century BC , they went to the Acropolis , where the Parthenon would later be situated . There , they were attacked by lions . The Doctor defeated one and they both escaped . Later , when they were leaving , they encountered the lions again , which the Doctor subdued by using his sonic screwdriver to tickle the beasts . ( PROSE : " The Slitheen Excursion " ) Caligula once tried to throw the Doctor to the lions as he did not like the cut of his trousers . ( AUDIO : " The Labyrinth of Buda Castle " ) In about 120 AD , the Tenth Doctor found himself opposing lions , tiger s and bear s in the Flavian Amphitheatre . However , the lion was easily dispatched with the sonic screwdriver . One burst at the correct frequency immediately sent the cat to sleep . ( PROSE : " The Stone Rose " ) On a visit to the Ngorogoro Crater in March 1926 , the Seventh Doctor spotted some lions and was reminded of a time when he , perhaps in another incarnation , had seen the last lion on Earth shot in the same area . ( PROSE : " Prelude Birthright " ) In New York City in the 1960s , lions were among the zoo animals released by a mad scientist . ( COMIC : " The Monsters from the Past " ) The Third Doctor and Brigadier Lethbridge - Stewart met a lion at a zoo in the 20th century . The lion was as docile as an ordinary house cat . This odd behaviour convinced the Doctor and UNIT to investigate the strange goings - on in the area . ( COMIC : " The Arkwood Experiments " ) In the 20th century , the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith went to the London Zoo on the trail of a dying Pescaton . They noted that even the lions were afraid of the shark - like creature . ( AUDIO : " Doctor Who and the Pescatons " ) In the 22nd century , the Tenth Doctor again crossed paths with lions , this time at a zoo . After a Dalek invaded the facility , he was momentarily surrounded by lions who had escaped . He escaped the pride only with the help of a vulgle . ( COMIC : " Carnage Zoo " , " Flight and Fury " ) At some point , the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones encountered lions in the wild in Kenya , whereupon the Doctor falsely advised that they ' d be safe because " the lions were more scared of them " than they of the lions . ( PROSE : " The Pirate Loop " ) Companions . Lions were also occasionally seen by companion s who were separated from the Doctor . Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright were attacked by a lion near Rome . Ian managed to kill it , though he regretted it . ( PROSE : " Romans Cutaway " ) A month later , in July 64 , Ian saw a lion while imprisoned in the city of Rome . It was intended that he fight the beast , but this event was cancelled in favour of a duel for the Roman Emperor Nero . ( TV : " The Romans " ) When he , the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith visited Nyasaland , Harry Sullivan hoped to see lions . ( PROSE : " To Kill a Nandi Bear " ) K9 once encountered lions on a planet in another dimension , partially inhabited by ex - Tellac miners . They lived alongside other Earth animals from widely varying periods of evolution ary history . On this planet , prides of lions lived around acacia tree s , males in the branches , females in the shade underneath . ( PROSE : " K9 and the Missing Planet " ) Others . At some point after the 22nd century Dalek invasion , lions began to live in the forest s of England . Men from Becca ' s village killed and skinned a lion from a forest close to them . ( PROSE : " Legacy of the Daleks " ) In circa 10 , 000 , 000 , a lion was one of the animals on board the Ark . ( PROSE : " The Ark " ) In 1590 , the Moon was home to a species of lion which was invulnerable to weapons made from iron , bronze or stone , but not glass . They were occasionally hunt ed by the Lunaries . One such hunt was observed by Iris Wildthyme and ambassador s from Earth ; the hunt was interrupted by the arrival of a Hydra , which fought and killed the lion . ( PROSE : " Minions of the Moon " ) Alternate realities . In an alternate timeline , lions survived despite the Silurian s ' reintroduction of extinct species . In Africa , Baryonyx would kill and feed on antelope and leave the scraps for the lions . ( PROSE : " Blood Heat " ) Cultural references to lions . " The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe " was a book by C . S . Lewis . ( COMIC : " The Professor , the Queen and the Bookshop " ) In Pete ' s World , Mr Crane had " track 90 " played once a large - scale cyber - conversion was underway in London . This song referred to sleeping lions . ( TV : " Rise of the Cybermen " ) Nelson ' s Column , a monument to Horatio Nelson , had four lion statues around it . ( TV : " The Dalek Invasion of Earth " ) Erimem wore a signet ring with the symbol of a female lion . ( AUDIO : " The Bride of Peladon " ) During World War I , there was a Royal Navy ship called the " Lion " which participated in the Battle of Jutland . Ben Jackson ' s uncle was one of its crewmembers . ( AUDIO : " The Mouthless Dead " )