174 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



its well-nigh instant death. Except full-grown elephant, 

 rhinoceros, and hippopotamus, there is no animal in Africa 

 which the lion does not attack, and it preys on the young 

 of all three creatures; and in altogether exceptional in- 

 stances parties of lions have been known to attack and 

 master nearly full-grown cows or half-grown young bulls 

 of all three of them. The giraffe is occasionally killed. In 

 parts of Africa the buffalo is a common prey; but where other 

 game is plentiful, lions prefer to avoid combat with such 

 formidable quarry, and they rarely attack a buffalo bull in 

 full vigor unless several of them are together. On Heatly's 

 ranch near Nairobi lions sometimes laid up in a big papyrus 

 bed which sheltered a herd of buffalo, but zebra and harte- 

 beest and other buck swarmed near by, and during our stay 

 the lions never meddled with the buffalo except on one oc- 

 casion when a lion and a lioness together killed a young cow 

 which they found by itself. At Meru Boma I met a visiting 

 district commissioner, Mr. Pigott, who a few months pre- 

 viously had found the remains of a big buffalo bull which 

 had been attacked and overpowered by a party of lions; 

 the struggle had been terrific; and near by lay the body of a 

 lioness, her flank ripped open by one of the buffalo's horns. 

 A full-grown male lion, however, will kill a cow buffalo sin- 

 gle-handed, and when sharp set by hunger has even been 

 known to kill a full-grown bull, usually after a hard struggle. 

 Of course, in such a case the lion owes his success to surprise, 

 the attack being delivered with terrific rapidity, and the 

 quarry taken completely unawares. Even a cow buffalo, if 

 on her guard, would have a good chance of beating off a 

 lion, and a bull would almost certainly do so. But if the 

 lion can bound on his victim, fixing the claws of one fore- 



