110 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



and inner organs. He has also seen Lions take these 

 parts and cover them with earth, doubtless to keep 

 them till the following night and to protect them 

 from the Vultures which are sure to put in an ap- 

 pearance during the da}-. Concerning their mode 

 of attack he says: "In my experience Lions attack 

 animals in the most varied manner; I have seen a 

 Horse, a young Elephant and two Antelopes killed 

 by bites in the throat; but I have also seen a Horse 

 and several Zebras killed by bites in the nape of the 

 neck. I suppose that Buffaloes sometimes meet 

 their death through dislocation of the vertebrae of 

 the neck, the Lion jumping on their shoulder, taking 

 their nose with his paw and giving it a sudden turn. 

 I have seen and shot a great many Buffaloes which 

 had escaped the Lion in time to save their lives, 

 after being terribly lacerated about the shoulders 

 and neck. 



The Lion prefers large game, but in default of it 

 he accepts rather small fry with good grace. It is 

 said that he even eats Locusts. The aim of his hunt 

 is the capture of large prey always, as he is most 

 frequently found where there is much game, or nu- 

 merous herds of Cattle. He finds his principal food 

 among flocks of domestic animals, wild Zebras, An- 

 telopes and wild Boars. Under certain circumstances 

 he even eats animals he finds dead. Selous says: 

 "The South African Lion is often a very dirty feeder 

 and frequently gorges himself with the huge bodies 

 of Elephants in a state of decomposition and crawl- 

 ing with worms in the tropic sun; night after night 

 he returns to the feast, until all is gone." Probably a 

 great many other animals help him, and rarely let the 

 opportunity slip of feasting at the King's table. The 

 cowardly, lazy Hyena and the whole genus of Dogs 

 proper think it very convenient to let others do the 

 killing for them; and as soon as the Lion has left 

 they eat their fill and more. The King does not tol- 

 erate them and it is said that serious quarrels occur 

 over this matter. 



Lions Attach Man is very seldom attacked by the 

 Men Lion, and his tall form seems to in- 



but Seldom. S pj re the latter with fear. In Soudan 

 at least, where His Majesty is met with rather fre- 

 quently, scarcely any instances of Lions eating Men 

 arc known. More frequently Man meets with an 

 untimely death in that country from attacks by 

 Crocodiles and even Hyenas than from Lions. In 

 South Africa the anecdotes about their attacking 

 Men are common, as they penetrate into camps, in 

 spite of fires, to carry away Cattle, or even human 

 beings sitting near the fire. Probably only semi- 

 starvation leads them to the camp fires, as it did that 

 strong Lioness with an empty stomach, of which 

 Selous says that notwithstanding fires, guards and 

 shots, she thrice came into the camp and attacked 

 a Horse and two natives close to the fire. Each 

 time her murderous attempts were frustrated, and 

 finally she was killed. "A hungry Lion is like a 

 devil " is a saying in South Africa ; and whether 

 old and debilitated or young and strong, by night 

 or by day, a famished Lion will attack Men, and if 

 such an experience teaches him what an easy prey 

 Man is, he is sure to wish again for such convenient 

 game. Real " Man-eaters " can hardly be developed 

 there though, as most of the South African natives 

 are not the people to stand much from a Lion. 



Selous' Nobody has described the South Afri- 

 Description can Lion in plainer and more perti- 



of the Lion. ne nt language than Selous: "It has 

 always appeared to me that the word 'majestic' is 



singularly inapplicable to the Lion in the wild state, 

 as when seen by daylight he always has a stealthy, 

 furtive look that entirely does away with the idea of 

 majesty. To look majestic a Lion should hold his 

 head high. This he seldom does. When walking he 

 holds it low, lower than the line of his back, and it is 

 only when he first becomes aware of the presence of 

 Man that he sometimes raises his head and takes a 

 look at the intruder, usually lowering it immediately, 

 and trotting away with a growl. When at bay, stand- 

 ing with open mouth and glaring eyes, holding his 

 head low between his shoulders, and keeping up a 

 continuous low growling, twitching his tail the while 

 from side to side, no animal can look more unpleas- 

 ant than a Lion; but there is then nothing majestic 

 or noble in his appearance. If the Lion throws his 

 tail twice or thrice vertically upward, it means ' look 

 out'; for this is the sign of an immediate attack. 

 Lions met in the daytime nearly always retreat be- 

 fore Man, even when they are disturbed in their meal, 

 and, consequently, hungry. Of course, when they are 

 attacked or wounded they reciprocate. In my ex- 

 perience Lions are more aggressive than any other 

 South African game I have ever met. As they are 

 more easily concealed and more rapid and agile in 

 their attack than Elephants, Unicorns or Buffaloes, 

 I consider them much more dangerous. Still Lions 

 show as much individuality as Man, and it is not to be 

 supposed that what one does, the next one is also 

 sure to do. I think that nobody has a right to call 

 Lions cowards, because he has shot two or three 

 which happened to be such. There are more acci- 

 dents happening from encounters with Buffaloes, but 

 this is explained not by the fact that Buffaloes are 

 more dangerous, but because they are more fre- 

 quently met with. In the '70's one met fifty Buffa- 

 loes to a single Lion on a hunt." 



The awe-inspiring presence of the Lion, his great 

 power and courage, have always been acknowledged 

 and admired. Though this enthusiasm may at times 

 have been exaggerated and may have resulted in 

 ascribing properties to the Lion which he does not 

 possess, still it is not without foundation. The most 

 prominent naturalists give the Lion credit for quali- 

 ties which in my opinion include nobility enough. 

 And whoever has become more closely acquainted 

 with that animal ; whoever has, like myself, inti- 

 mately known a captive Lion for years, must think 

 as I do ; he must love and esteem it as much as a 

 human being can love and esteem any animal. 



The Lioness A Lioness gives birth to from one to 

 and six cubs at once, the number usually 



Her Cubs, being two or three. The little Lion-cubs 

 have their eyes open at birth and are about half the 

 size of a Cat. The Lioness treats them usually with 

 great tenderness and one can hardly imagine a more 

 beautiful spectacle than the mother with her cubs. 

 They play together like Kittens, and the mother 

 regards them gravely, but yet with infinite pleasure. 

 They may be seen thus in captivity, as a Lioness 

 often gives birth to a litter when a captive. In well 

 managed zoological gardens Lions are now bred as 

 carefully and as systematically as Dogs ; and even in 

 circuses, where the animals have but little room and 

 often insufficient nourishment, Lions are born and 

 sometimes grow up. 



Lion- cubs are at first rather clumsy. They learn 

 to walk in the second month of their life and their 

 play begins still later. At first they mew like Cats, 

 but later on their voice becomes fuller and stronger. 

 In their play they are at first awkward and clumsy, 



