The Ghost and The Darkness was filmed in South Africa and many animals were used throughout this film. Since The Ghost and The Darkness are the names of the two man eating lions, lions are used throughout the film. Through our investigation five lions were used, each with his own unique expertise such as, one that is fierce, one with the ability to climb, one that runs fast, and another that will stand still upon cue and stare at the camera. The lions were brought to the location three months prior to filming in order to adjust to their surroundings. The story called for a lion to climb a tree, a behavior that is uncommon to lions, however, a careful and prolonged process was started early in pre-production to teach the animal to master the task.

Individual accommodations were provided for each lion on the Songimvelo Game Reserve with in-door and out-door residence and fed a daily supply of beef and chicken. Only those individuals who were absolutely necessary were allowed to be on the set while the lions were working.

The film depicts the lions stalking and attacking the villagers throughout. Most of the shots of the lions are close up shots of a lion's face, either calm or snarling, and his piercing eyes. Lion's are seen in tall grass standing, lying down, and running. The Lions are also shown in a few scenes jumping on men, as though, attacking and eating them. For one of these scenes, a lion is seen pulling a rope in his mouth to yank down a pole with a man on it.

In one scene a lion is seen running at Patterson and he shoots. Angus, Patterson's assistant, falls from the tree he was sitting in and is face to face with the supposed dead lion. Then the dead lion is seen strung across poles as workers carry him through the village. In another scene, John climbs a tree and a lion climbs the tree after him. The lion is supposedly shot in the face and head while crawling after John. Then there is a close-up shot of the lions face. There is also another scene, where a lion jumps off a rock at Remington, the great white hunter, and he shoots his gun. The lion is seen presumely dead on the ground. All of the above scenes were shot in cuts.

In one scene a cow is tied up for a hunting ritual. A villager supposedly stabs the cow in the jugular vein with a spear and blood drips out, then Remington, drinks the blood.

In a few scenes, the men try and capture the lions by putting out live animals as bait. In one scene a donkey with bells on his neck is seen standing and in another scene, a baboon is brought out in a cage and placed on the ground. The baboon walks out of the cage and has a leash on him that is attached to a pole so he could walk a few feet. The baboon hears a noise and holds the pole and starts making his own noises. He gets nervous and aggravated so he climbs on top of the pole. The lion supposedly attacks the baboon, but this is not shown.

An owl is seen in a couple of scenes. In one, it screeches and flies off and in another, an owl flies at John and supposedly knocks him off a high platform he was standing on. Vultures are also seen flying out of a tree to eat a dead villager. John shoots his gun to scare the birds away.

Other animal action consists of giraffes, gazelles, hyenas, buffalo's, hippopotamus's, elephants, chimpanzees, and a flock of birds, seen in the background. . Cows are also seen grazing, standing in a pen, running through the village, and being herded by villagers. Also, horse drawn carriages are seen in the background in London, and wagons being pulled by horses are seen in Africa.

The Ghost and The Darkness was filmed in South Africa and a representative from the South African Animal Anti-Cruelty League joined the company when the lions arrived and was present throughout filming. American Humane was not present on set to monitor the animal action.