THE LION AND OTHER BEASTS OF PREY 



217 



Lions gciicrallv lie in wait for their i)rey, concealed in the reeds 

 near some place where other animals come to drink, and then, spring- 

 ing from their lair, leap ii])on the victim, striking it down wath the 

 paws. The neck is nsuallv l)roken with a violent wa-ench of the 

 powerful jaws, and the carcass is carried off to he devoured at leisure. 

 The lion does not disdain the flesh of animals killed hy the hunter. 

 Gordon Gumming frequently saw^ lions feeding on antelopes that had 



THE HUNTERS ADVENTURE WITH A LION 



fallen hy his rifle; and Stevens, who w^as sent hy the New York 

 Herald to find Stanley, saw three "bunched up inside the capacious 

 carcass of a rhinoceros, and feeding off the foulest carrion imaginable." 

 When pressed by hunger the lion will approach a native village by 

 night and carry off goats and calves, but fires and torches will scare 

 him away. 



The lion has been called the king of beasts, and a good deal has 



