Game Animals of India, etc. 



particular bush or tree tor their midday place of repose, 

 so that when one was known to be in the neighbourhood 

 its discovery was an easy matter. This may have 

 helped considerably in the diminution in its numbers 

 which has taken place during the last century. 



The following account of the habits of the Indian lion 

 is from a sporting writer: — " He seeks the loneliest spot 

 for his midday sleep, and, when disturbed, does not slink 

 away like the tiger, but walks or runs upright, without 

 any attempt to hide himself. He avoids man more 

 than either the tiger or the leopard, and never lives 

 near a village or hamlet. The lion is fond of his 

 kind, and moves in family parties, three generations 

 being sometimes found in one party." Whatever may 

 have been the case when its numbers were few, there 

 is no doubt that after having been so long undisturbed 

 the Gir lion has become unusually bold. A couple of 

 them were recently seen in the vicinity of Junagarh 

 city, and carried off cattle from places close to a number 

 of buildings. There are stories of their having carried 

 off within the last year or two cultivators working on 

 patches of ground in the jungle. 



In the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates lions 

 often resort to reedy swamps for covert, and in 

 the neighbourhood of Shiraz enter reed-brakes and 

 oak-forest for the purpose of preying upon the 

 droves of swine which find shelter and food in such 

 localities. 



The male lion, it may be added, is the only member 

 of the Felid<£ adorned with the flowing mane on the 

 head and fore -quarters which adds so much to the 

 grandeur of its appearance ; the tuft on the tip of the 

 tail being another distinctive peculiarity. It is likewise 

 the only species that is polygamous. The lioness, in 

 general form, is much more like a tiger ; to which 

 animal the present species is very closely related ; 

 although from the occurrence of faint spots in the 

 cubs it is evident that the ancestor of the lion was a 



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