I think a lot of people are missing the point of this question by referencing real world coat of arms with a foreign animal, in regions that don’t have that animal.
No one on the Eastern kingdoms would have ever seen or heard of a lion before. They just simply do not exist to their perception. There are cougars on the continent, but not maned lions. It’s a question that has popped up in the community for more than a decade.
The simple answer is, Blizzard didn’t think that far ahead. They thought it would be cool to have a lion as a crest, but when they fleshed out the continent for the MMO, they never included a desert or savanna location. Slipped their mind.
It would be a possibility, certainly! If not for Blizzard making sure the players knew that humans have never been to Kalimdor before. That it was considered a fictional place by the alliance races. Even the wise and knowledgeable mages of Dalaran didn’t think it was real! They wrote themselves into a corner with that one.
What about the Zandalari? The Kul Tirans may have had some knowledge from crossing paths with them and they were part of the alliance until WC3.
Doesn't require the general population to be familiar with them, just good enough sightings to paint the picture of a mythical beast "hey you know those big cats we have in hillsbrad? It was like that but bigger, and it had lots of hair round it's head"
15
u/Durffus Feb 08 '25
I think a lot of people are missing the point of this question by referencing real world coat of arms with a foreign animal, in regions that don’t have that animal.
No one on the Eastern kingdoms would have ever seen or heard of a lion before. They just simply do not exist to their perception. There are cougars on the continent, but not maned lions. It’s a question that has popped up in the community for more than a decade.
The simple answer is, Blizzard didn’t think that far ahead. They thought it would be cool to have a lion as a crest, but when they fleshed out the continent for the MMO, they never included a desert or savanna location. Slipped their mind.