THE LION. 33 



that the animal to which they belonged cannot be separated 

 from the existing Lion, whose range was, therefore, formerly- 

 very extensive. It is, however, very noteworthy that there is 

 no evidence of the Lion having ever inhabited the countries 

 to the eastwards of the Bay of Bengal, where the Tiger is so 

 abundant ; and it may thus be concluded that while the one 

 is a western and southern form, the other is an eastern and 

 northern animal ; the meeting-place of the two being on the 

 plains of India, where the Tiger, as already mentioned, is not 

 improbably a recent immigrant. 



Habits. — Distinguished from the majority of the members of 

 the Cat tribe by its inability to climb, the Lion is essentially a 

 noisy animal, its well-known roar being in undisturbed districts 

 frequently uttered at intervals, from early evening, throughout 

 the night. Even the Lion, however, learns prudence, and in 

 places where they are much molested and harassed by Man, 

 they roar much less frequently than elsewhere. As is well- 

 known, Livingstone had no very high estimate of the impres- 

 siveness of the Lion's roar ; but his opinion is not shared by the 

 majority of more recent observers. Mr. F. H. Jackson, for 

 instance, in the volumes of the " Badminton Library " devoted 

 to big game, observes that, when heard on a still night at a 

 short distance, the Lion's roar is decidedly grand, especially 

 when two or more animals are uttering the sound in concert. 

 Later on in the same volume, Mr. Selous writes that " there 

 is no more magnificent sound in nature than the volume of 

 sound produced by a party of Lions roaring in unison, that is, 

 if one is fortunate enough to be very near to them. It is, 

 however, a rare occurrence to hear Lions roar loudly within a 

 short distance of one's camp, and in all my experience, though 

 I have heard these animals roaring upon hundreds of different 

 occasions, I can count the nights on the fingers of one hand 

 when, all unconscious of my near vicinity, a party of several 

 7 d 



