THE LION. 35 



a second, upwards of twenty-three. Not unfrequently these 

 parties combine to pull down large animals, as in the well- 

 known instance narrated by Vardon and Oswell, where three 

 males united their forces to attack a Buffalo. At the time 

 when Lions where abundant in India, their prey was chiefly 

 composed of Deer, Antelopes, Pigs, Horses, Donkeys, and 

 Camels ; and on the Euphrates they live chiefly on the swine 

 in the oak forests adjoining their haunts. In South and East 

 Africa, on the other hand, their favourite game is Zebra and 

 Buffalo ; and wherever large herds of the former animals are 

 found, there Lions may confidently be expected. Numbers of 

 the larger Antelopes, such as Hartebeests and Elands, are, how- 

 ever, killed ; while the Giraffe more rarely falls a victim. Old 

 Lions will, moreover, take to killing Goats and other domestic 

 animals ; and it is probable that many of these would turn into 

 confirmed Man-eaters, were it not that when a Lion exhibits 

 this propensity, the bold natives of Southern Africa promptly 

 turn out and destroy him — no matter at what cost of life. 

 The old idea of the Lion being a clean and dainty feeder has 

 been completely dissipated by modern observers, some of 

 whom state that these Cats will scarcely ever pass by the 

 carcase of a slain animal, even though it be in an advanced 

 state of decomposition, without stopping to make a meal of its 

 flesh. And it is related that where Elephants have been shot 

 and left to fester in the sun, Lions will stay by the decompos- 

 ing carcases, till the bones are picked clean, despite the fact 

 that there may be herds of their favourite Zebras in the im- 

 mediate neighbourhood. Moreover, the Lion is not free from 

 an occasional charge of cannibalism. 



Although the Lion generally prefers to creep silently up to 

 its victim by night, it will occasionally attack in broad day- 

 light, Mr. Jackson relating two instances where men have been 

 thus attacked without provocation. Equally rare are attacks 



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