The King of the Jungle Never Lived in a Jungle

Giving a moniker to an animal is uncommon, although it does occur. Dogs have long been regarded as "man's best friend." The lion, with its appellation "king of the jungle," has possibly the most well-known nickname of any animal species. The king component is derived from the lion's mane, which has frequently been compared to a crown over the years. They are also referred to as "lord of the beasts." But it's the jungle portion that's strange, not the king part.

If you've ever been on safari or watched nature movies about lions in the wild, you've probably observed that lions prefer the savannah. They enjoy wide open expanses. Lions do not inhabit jungles. So why would anyone refer to them as the monarch of a country in which they do not reside?

Jungle is a Hindi and Sanskrit term that may be spelled "jungle," "jangle," "jangala," or even "jingli" depending on your source. All of those phrases, however, have the same meaning, which is essentially "wild or uninhabited lands." Similar to a savannah. The specific meaning of a dense forest is not attributed to the word, and it is argued that it would never exist in the area from which the word originates because there are no jungles there. The word evolved into English to include dense forest, leaving the original meaning behind.