Once again depends on the dog, whether you can feel their ribs or not. Conditions would have dictated that the Lion hunting dogs wouldn't have been fat. Conformation wise all modern RR can trace their ancestry down to one dog anyway. The dog's name was Ginger a Lion hunting dog. This dog had the type that resembled other lion hunting dogs at the time. A more sturdy dog without the excessive sighthound influence seen in most of today's RR.

So if modern opinion says that a heavier dog than today's sighthound type couldn't hunt Lions, well I don't really need to tell you how much it's worth.

Your agenda may be true for running down animals. Sighthound type dogs aren't going to hold a Lion at bay. RR have also been used as one individual to bay a lion. Because the dog that could do this didn't live today and didn't get shown makes no difference to its ability. It was of the old type. This type was picked purely for functional purposes. Temperament was matched to this type. The cool headed laid back temperament was there for a reason.

History of the RR has been documented. Why not read it. It's a lot more persuasive to me than someones knee jerk, emotional response to this question. Pointing a finger at RR owners whose dogs are too fat for your agenda doesn't mean much. Then to claim that a 200 pound RR can't hunt Lions is pretty much stating the obvious. Then to base your conclusions on this ridiculous fact means even less.

If you want to exaggerate fine go ahead. It does make your credibility a bit suspect though.