3S Lloyd's natural histcry. 



very generally dislocated ; and it may be suggested, that, as a 

 possible solution of the discrepancy, while in some instances 

 the victims are killed in the manner described by Messrs. 

 Nicolls and Eglington, in other cases the aggressor may 

 employ different tactics and go to work in the way in- 

 dicated by Mr. Selous. 



By the older hunters in Africa stories were told of Lions 

 taking the carcases of animals of the size of Oxen in their 

 mouths, and, thus burdened, springing over the palisades with 

 which kraals in South Africa are surrounded. In spite, how- 

 ever, of its enormous strength, those most capable of forming 

 a judgment on the subject are of opinion that the Lion is 

 utterly incapable of performing any such feat, and that the 

 body of its victim, be it large or be it small, is invariably held 

 in the mouth by the head or neck and dragged along the 

 ground by the side of its slayer. According to Mr. Selous, on 

 the rare occasions when Lions do break into the kraals, they but 

 seldom leap over the fence, not even when it is low, preferring 

 to make their way through the interstices at the bottom : and 

 they will at times walk round and round an enclosure until 

 they find an interval between two poles, which they enlarge by 

 thrusting the latter apart, and thus manage to squeeze their 

 bodies through. When once inside, if suddenly disturbed or 

 fired at, they will often make a speedy exit by leaping the 

 fence. 



It is ascertained that a Lion will live for at least thirty years, 

 and there are some reasons for believing that the duration of 

 life will sometimes reach as much as forty years. A Lion and 

 Lioness pair for life; and while, in the wild state, the number of 

 cubs in a litter is generally but two or three (the latter number 

 being the most usual in South Africa), in captivity as many as 

 six are not uncommonly produced. Even in the wild condi- 

 tion many cubs die at a very early age ; and it is therefore not 



