178 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



ally confine themselves to women and children, and there 

 are man-eating hyenas ; but the true man-eaters of Africa are 

 lions and crocodiles. As has long been known, man-eating 

 lions are frequently very old individuals, males or females, 

 which have lost many teeth, and are growing too feeble to 

 catch game, whereas they find it easy to master man, who 

 is the feeblest of all animals of his size, and the one whose 

 senses are dullest, and who has no natural weapons. But 

 it is a mistake to think that all man-eaters are old and feeble 

 animals. Where lions are much hunted it is doubtless true 

 that they grow so wary of man that only the dire want pro- 

 duced by utter feebleness could make them think of preying 

 on him; but where they are less molested, their natural 

 ferocity and boldness make it always possible that under 

 favorable conditions a hungry lion, not hitherto a man- 

 eater, will be tempted to kill and devour a man, and will 

 then take to man-killing as a steady pursuit. Many noted 

 man-eaters — those killed by Mr. Patterson, for instance — 

 have been full-grown male lions in the prime of life and 

 vigor. It is worth noting, by the way, that Mr. Patterson 

 states that in advancing to the attack on the railway camps 

 the lions always roared loudly to one another until within a 

 mile or so, but were absolutely silent during the hour that 

 preceded the actual seizure of some unfortunate man. The 

 attack of a man-eater is always delivered at night, and is 

 practically always by surprise; but if the first attack fails, a 

 bold lion will sometimes persevere and do his best to seize 

 another victim. Even a man-eater thoroughly realizes that 

 men are dangerous; he is no more apt to make a hard fight 

 when himself hunted than is any other lion of like vigor; 

 and when he is the hunter he always retires with his vie- 



