'Lions' in the Bible

Now when first they were living there they did not give worship to the Lord. So the Lord sent lions among them, causing the death of some of them.

So they said to the king of Assyria, The nations whom you have taken as prisoners and put in the towns of Samaria, have no knowledge of the way of the god of the land: so he has sent lions among them, causing their death, because they have no knowledge of his way.