LION (FELIS LEO). 1 29 



When a lion has killed a number of people at a village the natives combine 

 to hunt it down, and generally succeed in killing it or frightening it away; but 

 till the lion has made a number of depredations it does not seem to occur to them 

 to hunt it, or perhaps because of their superstitious veneration for this animal ihey 

 think it is best left alone as long as possible. 



For this reason, too, it is very difficult to get reliable khabar of lion from natives. 



If they were certain that you would kill it they would not mind so much, but if it 

 gets away or is wounded they seem to think it may take revenge on whoever gave 

 it away. 



A lion does not seem to know how to tackle a man properly unless he is an old 

 professional man-eater, and numbers of cases have occurred where lions have tried 

 to carry off men by the arm or shoulder without first killing them, and to this reason 

 and their natural fear of man do we attribute so many men escaping after having 

 been seized. 



Livingstone was seized by a lion and carried off by the shoulder, and there are 

 numberless similar cases. 



Young sportsmen are cautioned not to go into the bush at night when there may 

 be lions about, and if it is necessary to do so, to take a lamp and rifle. 



If there are cubs they appear to be left behind when a raid is made on a village 

 or kraal. 



As with most other animals, the female does most of the scouting work, and very 

 often leads in the attack. 



If met with during the day they are frightened of man, but seem to be almost 

 fearless of him during the night, and may wander through ten or twenty villages during 

 the course of one night ; but they are always exceedingly cautious, and will at once 

 detect anything new or strange and give it a wide berth. 



After a " kill," however, they often become quite reckless, and therefore sitting over 

 a kill is the surest way of bagging him, provided great care is taken to leave things as 

 they are, to sit up high enough in the air so that your wind may pass over him, and 

 not to trample about too much round the kill. 



Such a circumstance as finding a live animal tied up for him where he had killed 

 would be certain to arouse his suspicions ; he would suspect a trap and not come 

 near the place. 



Sitting up over an animal is most disappointing work, and, as we have already 

 said, he is most wary before killing, and, unless driven by extreme hunger, would 

 generally detect something suspicious about it. 



A man-eater entering a village will often break open a hut with a blow or two 



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