Bali tattoos lions tigers bears

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

This collection of big cats and bear tattoos from Bali, Indonesia is designed to help you choose a Bali tattoo artist with experience in the style you want.


Black and grey realistic lion tattoo Bali
Realistic black and grey lion face tattoo
by The Art of Hell for Artful Ink Bali

Lion Tattoos

Mighty and majestic, the lion is the king of the jungle, symbolizing power, loyalty and… reggae music?

Lion Tattoo by Beii Skink at Sabian Ink Tattoo Studio
Kuta, Bali – March 2019

A lion head with a growling open mouth and large mane commands a lot of space, making this a great subject for an upper arm tattoo or chest piece.

Lion heads, crowned lions, and the lion of Judah or the “Zion Lion” are popular tattoo designs for brave guys and men under the star sign Leo.

A lioness tattoo symbolizes power as well as motherhood and protection.

Tiger Tattoos

Tigers are actually the largest of the big cats! Their stripes make them an excellent choice for a tattoo.

growling tiger chestpiece by onal seminyak tattooer
Growling tiger chestpiece by Ronald Arnold for West Coast Ink Bali

The growl is by far the most popular expression. For tattoos of a whole tiger (ironically it’s no surprise) a top pose is the predatory pounce.

Beautiful Bengal tigers from India, Sumatran tigers and white Siberian tigers are among the favorites for tattoo designs.

The iconic tiger subspecies with a large head, rich orange color and white underside is the Amur tiger which lives in Russia and China, according to  Live Science.

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Back (to) Tiger Tattoos

Tiger backpiece
Full back by Komink Ambitious Ink Bali 
Tiger tattoo Andre Scriptura
Tiger backpiece in progress by Andre Scriptura in Canggu Bali

What do Bali tigers look like?

The native Bali tiger has been extinct since the 1940’s.

Other Wildcats

Spotted leopards, cheetahs and slinky black panthers are less popular cats for tattoo designs. For no good reason!

These cool little black cheetah and tiger tattoos come from Aldo for Nuage Tattoo Co. in Canggu, Bali. Now at Fox Mulder Tattoo Studio.

Panther Tattoos

Although American traditional tattoos mostly showed patriotic wartime symbols, that was followed by a lot of black panther tattoos in a similar style during the United States’ Civil Rights Movement. iTattoo Designs says the black panther tattoo can symbolize fierce conflict, freedom and revolution – that makes sense to us!

We expect the black panther to have a comeback with the rise of old school tattoo designs.

Bear Tattoos

What’s the meaning of a bear tattoo?

Good luck!

At least, that’s what customtattoodesign.ca says, along with this about grizzly tattoos too:

“with deep roots in North American symbolism, the grizzly bear represents strength and skill in hunting”

– Custom tattoo design

Grizzly bears and brown bears are the most common choice for tattoo art in Bali, although come to think of it we have seen some ridiculously cute Kung Fu Panda tattoos which we’ll need to find and publish – where are you hiding, cartoon panda?

Panda Bear Tattoos

Panda Bear Tattoo by Koko Art 999 Flash Ink Legian
Panda Bear Tattoo by Koko Art 999 for Flash Ink

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SORRY, BALI ARTISTS ONLY.  And as always, please let us know if we got anything wrong.

Last update: 29 MAR 2019