Lion et lionne se disputant un sanglier

Went for a walk at lunchtime in Kelvingrove Park (where else). I happened to look up at this statue that I've passed loads of times but never really noticed. Looks like the peacock is most definitely Lion dinner. Anyway, decided to google it and here are the results.

It was created by Auguste Nicholas Caïn (November 16, 1822 - August 6, 1894) who was a noted French sculptor in the Animaliers school, known for his portrayals of wild and domesticated animals.

Caïn was born in Paris, and studied under Rude, Guionnet, and Pierre-Jules Mêne (whose daughter he married in 1852). His first exhibit in the Salon of 1846 was a wax model of a linnet defending her nest from a rat, later cast in bronze and shown at the 1855 Salon. Between 1846-1888, Caïn exhibited 38 models at the Salon.

Kelvingrove's version was the gift of a son of Glasgow, John Stewart Kennedy, who had emmigrated to New York and made his fortune. Whilst on a visit to Paris in 1866, Kennedy visited Cain's studio and was so impressed by this work in progress (for the 1867 Paris Exhibition) that he ordered a copy for his native city and donated it to the Corporation. It is possible that Kennedy was one of the so-called ?other citizens? who, along with the lead benefactor, famed telegraph inventor Samuel Morse, jointly sponsored the gift to Central Park. Today it sits, not on a tall pedestal but at ground level, in the Central Park Zoo. There is also a copy ? perhaps Cain's original ? in Les Jardins Tuileries in Paris.