CHARACTER OF THE LION. l8l 



victim among the antelopes, gazelles, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, etc., 

 which are led thither to slake their thirst. These animals, well aware 

 of this habit of their enemy, will not approach a pond without extreme 

 caution. If one, however, places itself within reach of their terrible foe, 

 its fate is generally sealed. One enormous bound enables the lion to 

 spring on its back, and one blow with his paw breaks its spine. If the 

 lion misses his aim, he does not endeavor to continue a useless pursuit, 

 well knowing that he cannot compete in speed with the children of the 

 plains. He therefore skulks back into his hiding-place, to He in ambush 

 until some more fortunate chance presents itself, or complete nightfall 

 shuts out all hope of success. 



The audacity of the lion increases in proportion to his requirements. 

 When he has exhausted all means of procuring subsistence, and when he 

 can no longer put off the cravings of hunger, he sets no limit to his 

 aggressions, and will brave every danger rather than perish by famine. 

 In open day he will then proceed to where herds of oxen and sheep 

 pasture, entirely disregarding shepherds and dogs. At such times he 

 has been known to carry his rashness so far as to attack a drove of 

 buffaloes, but the latter can repel him ; the bulls forming a ring around 

 the cows and calves, and keeping him off with their horns. Unlike most 

 felines the lion will eat carrion, contrary to the usual opinion that " 'tis the 

 royal disposition of the beast, to prey on nothing that doth seem as dead." 



The " King of Beasts " seems, like other kings, to have fallen on evil 

 times ; not only is he sedulously shot down, but even his character is 

 taken from him. Buffon ascribed to him courage, magnanimity, gene- 

 rosity, nobility, gratitude, and sensibility, and adds that he is so gallant 

 as never to eat till the lioness has satisfied her hunger. More recent 

 observers, however, seem to have arrived at the conclusion that " the 

 lion is a very fox for his valor, and a goose for his discretion." He is 

 not an open foe, he creeps stealthily on his victim, and never attacks 

 targe animals. He is accused of indolence, and to this indolence these 

 learned men attribute a bad habit he sometimes acquires of becoming a 

 man-eater. Unarmed, they say, man is weaker of limb, slower of foot, 

 and less vigilant of sense than any wild animal, and is therefore an easy 

 victim. From the mom.ent the lion becomes a man-eater, he is a scourge 

 to the neighborhood, paying, night after night, visits to the village, 

 instead of as usual flying from the presence of man. The lion is exceed- 

 ingly distrustful; they have been known to surround an escaped horse, 



