60 IN BRIGHTEST AFRICA 
altogether easy to tell how soon they know the pres- 
ence of man or of other animals, for they do not al- 
ways show what they know. For instance, I once 
had the startling experience of getting within three 
feet of a lioness before she moved. She, of course, 
knew I was there long before I got that close, and yet 
until I almost stepped on her she made no sign. There 
is, however, no question but that the lion has a sharp, 
far sight in the daytime, and from the size of the pupil 
and his nocturnal habits of hunting I think he has 
unusually keen sight at night. I have never seen any 
indication that a lion has the keen smell of a dog or 
any animal that hunts by scent, nor have I ever seen 
anything to make me believe that he has any ab- 
normal sense of hearing. 
While many things about lions’ habits are con- 
troversial, I think that practically everyone who has 
had experience with them will agree that they are 
not savage in the sense of killing for the mere sake of 
killing. There are a few isolated cases which seem to 
conflict with this statement, but the great mass of 
testimony confirms it. There was a seeming excep- 
tion to this rule which happened to an English travel- 
ler and his wife in Somaliland. They were intent on 
getting a lion by “baiting”—that is, they killed an 
animal and left it as bait for the lions while they hid 
in a thorn oma which they built near by. There was 
only a small hole in the oma through which to watch 
and shoot. They stationed a black boy at this hole 
to watch while they slept. They awoke to find that a 
lion had stuck his head into the hole and killed the 
