Regarding house sigils
I'm halfway through the first half of A Storm of Swords, and so far appearances or references to every animal/symbol of every house sigil have been made, with exception to the lion of <PERSON>.
I mean, we've seen direwolves (Stark), stags (Baratheon), bears (Mormont), dragons (Targaryen) and eagles (although <PERSON>'s sigil is a falcon, it is close enough and most likely exists). We know that trouts (Tully) are bound to exist, since the rivers are, most likely, host to several different types of fish (maybe someone already ate trout somewhere along the books, but I really do not remember). We know that there are sigils such as the <PERSON>'s Twins or the Martell's Sun and Spear (Sunspear) that are a reference to their "keep's" name or location. Furthermore, in page 108 of ASOS's first part, <PERSON> tells <PERSON> that "(...)dragons(...) grew so huge that they could pluck giant krakens from the seas.", making reference to the <PERSON>'s sigil animal, in a way that is not metaphorical. 247
The <PERSON>'s sigil is a flower, which is explained by their natural lands, fertile and flowery. Similar to the case of House <PERSON>'s sigil is House <PERSON>'s (we've seen wolves but not foxes, but they most likely exist in Westeros South, since their geographical and climacteric conditions will allow so).
This means that, excluding the lion of <PERSON>, every house sigil (that I am aware of so far) as been referenced in conditions other than metaphors (like the lion defeating the wolf, referring to this or that battle between <PERSON> and <PERSON>, etc.), and/or can have its meaning traced back to its House's geographical location.
As far as I have read, no lion other than a metaphorical one (used in confrontations with other houses, reflecting the characteristics (fierce, beautiful, etc.) of some Lannister House member, etc.) or the one present in the Lannister House sigil has been spotted or referenced in the books. Judging from the geographical and climacteric conditions in Westeros, I'd say that lions are bound to be indigenous to some location further South (or perhaps they come from Essos). This begs the question: Do lions exists in Westeros or in the ASOIAF's world? If so, WHY is it the House Lannister's sigil? Shouldn't they have picked some animal natural to their geographical region or something like that?
If this question is simply something that is answered by reading the rest of the series just tell me so, and sorry for the long question.
Thank you! 247