Hidden Animals in Mona Lisa?

Is there a menagerie of beasts in the Mona Lisa, and what do they mean?

An American artist claims to have uncovered hidden animals in Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, and that they indicate that the meaning of the painting is "envy." Right. As for the first claim, Ronald Piccirillo says there are the heads of a lion, a buffalo, and an ape in the background, as well as what appears to be either a snake or a crocodile coming out of Mona Lisa's body. The lion is, at least to us, the most solid of his claims, while it takes a bit of imagination to see the other two (after all, it's not like Da Vinci was an expressionist - dude painted reality). Piccirillo says that the inclusion of the lion is proof that the painting is about envy, as passages in Da Vinci's writings seem to hint at that underlying message. The passage from the journal says that an artist trying to represent envy must "give her a leopard's skin, because this creature kills the lion out of envy and by deceit." Piccirillo says that the lion's head is a reference to that. Another passage states: "Envy must be represented with a contemptuous motion of the hand towards heaven, because if she could she would use her strength against God." Piccirillo says that Mona Lisa's awkwardly placed right hand suggests that very theme. While interesting, we're going to hold out from believing Piccirillo's theory until there's a little more evidence than an awkwardly placed hand. The lion's really cool, though.