164 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



through Persia and Arabia to Africa, where it is found 

 throughout the whole continent. In addition to this 

 range, the Hon was found within historic times in Asia 

 Minor and southeastern Europe. The Hon has recently- 

 been exterminated in Cape Colony, south of the Orange 

 River, and in Algeria and along the Mediterranean region 

 and Egypt generally. It is now of rare occurrence in India 

 and Persia. 



The lions inhabiting Africa proper or Ethiopia may be 

 divided into some six or seven races, on differences in gen- 

 eral body size, relative size of teeth and skulls, and differ- 

 ences in tone of coloration and color of manes. At least 

 two of these races occur in the region covered by the pres- 

 ent treatise, a light-colored, yellow-maned race in British 

 East Africa, and a more tawny, shorter-maned race in 

 Uganda and the Nile Valley. Just outside of this territory 

 a small-toothed race, senegalensis, occurs in the Congo basin, 

 and another in Abyssinia, roosevelti, having a very broad 

 skull and black mane. The lion occurs everywhere except 

 in forest or alpine meadows. He is found throughout the 

 dry, hot deserts wherever water sufficient to quench his 

 thirst can be obtained. 



The lion is common throughout all the portions of East 

 Africa which we visited except on the high, wet plateaux and 

 in the dense forests; we did not come across it in Uganda; 

 but it was found on the Lado and less commonly along the 

 White Nile to the Sobat. There are geographical varieties; 

 but the presence or absence of the mane, and its color — 

 black, tawny, or mixed — represent individual and not spe- 

 cific or subspecific variation ; black and yellow-maned lions 

 come from the same litter, and the fullness of the mane may 

 vary greatly among males from the same litter, although 

 it is apt to be heaviest where the climate is cold. 



The litters are certainly born at various times. Judging 

 by the cubs we saw, one litter must have been produced by 



