Are there lions in South America?

Since this is the big question that Hobbes asks, I thought I had better do some research. There were lions in South America and North America for that matter, but thousands of years ago. Today they only exist in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Google is amazing! Pages and pages of information on lions, every aspect of their behavior which will be fun to somehow include in the story, especially the fact that they sleep 20+hours a day. But they are the most social of the Big Cats, which fits in with Hobbes personality.