372 THE CARNIVORES 



From this part of our subject we are naturally led on to the consideration of 

 the ordinary food of lions, and the manner in which they attack the larger animals 

 upon which they prey. It has been already mentioned that in the oak forests of 

 Persia the staple food of the lions is formed by the wild pigs which frequent these 

 woods. In India Mr. Blanford states that lions usually feed on deer, antelope, wild 

 pigs, cattle, horses, donkeys, and camels ; and that formerly a large number of 

 the latter were destroyed by them. In Africa lions appear to prey largely upon 

 antelopes, zebras, quaggas, buffaloes, and giraffes. Mr. Drummond states that on 

 the many occasions on which he has seen lions hunting by daylight, he cannot 

 recall one when they were not in pursuit of buffaloes, and he has known herds of 

 those animals which he had been hunting during the day scattered and dispersed by 

 lions at night. On the other hand Mr. Drummond would not commit himself to 

 the statement that buffalo meat forms the staple food of the South African lion. 

 " Were a zebra, a fat rhinoceros, and a fat buffalo to be killed and left out, it is 

 probable that they would be eaten in the order I have named. Soft succulent fat 

 is what the lion probably considers most toothsome, and zebras supply this in a 

 higher degree than any other animal , save the rhinoceros and the hippopotamus, 

 neither of which he is able to kill ; but on the other hand, the zebra . . . con- 

 fines himself to the open, as far as possible, never approaches within springing 

 distance of a thicket, and rarely, unless when going to water, gives the lion a 

 chance. Buffaloes, on the other hand, are nearly always in and close to cover, pre- 

 senting continual opportunities for a successful stalk ; and though the danger in 

 attacking them is much greater, as is proved by the no means rare instances of lions 

 being maimed, and even killed in such contests, yet for the above reason they form 

 their chief food. ' ' 



It must not, however, be supposed that lions by any means restrict themselves 

 to the flesh of animals which have fallen to their own attacks. The writer last 

 quoted mentions their partiality for the flesh of rhinoceroses, which they are unable 

 to kill themselves, and states that as many as eight or ten have been seen tearing at 

 once at the flesh of one of those animals that had been shot by a hunter of his own. 

 This is confirmed by the statement of Gordon Cumming already mentioned. 



In addition to eating the flesh of animals recently killed, lions will also prey 

 upon carcasses in an advanced state of decomposition. This fact was stated long 

 ago by Gordon Cumming, and is fully supported by the observations of Mr. Selous. 

 The latter writer states that when elephants have been shot, "lions will prey upon 

 the stinking carcasses as they lie festering in the rays of a tropical sun, and at last 

 become a seething mass of maggots, returning night after night to the feast, until 

 no more meat is left. This occurs in parts of the country abounding in game, 

 where it would give a party of lions but little trouble or exertion to catch a zebra, 

 buffalo, or antelope, and procure themselves a meal of fresh meat. In the same 

 way, no matter how plentiful game may be, lions will almost invariably feast upon 

 any dead animal left by the hunter, from a buffalo to a steinbock, that they may 

 happen to come across. ' ' 



Near villages, when lions grow too old to be able to take game for themselves, 

 Livingstone states that they will take to killing goats ; while women or children 



