CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS. 



47 



styled king of the forest, for he frequents burning desert 

 plains, or places covered with low brushwood. He com- 

 monly sleeps in the day, and at night rouses to search 

 for prey. A thunder-storm, so common in the night in 

 Southern Africa, seems to excite him to unwonted activ- 

 ity, and, mingling his roar with that of the thunder, he 

 rushes upon his terrified and confused prey without his 

 usual stealthiness. The Lioness is smaller than the Lion, 

 as you see in Fig. 25 (p. 46), and is destitute of the mane 

 which gives him so dignified an appearance. The cubs, 

 of which there are commonly from two to four, are as 

 playful as kittens. Mr. Wood says that he had two cubs, 

 larger than cats, placed in his arms, and found them " al- 

 most unpleasantly playful." 



72. .The Tiger, Fig. 26, is found only in Asia, chiefly in 



Fig. 26. Tiger. 



Hindostan: -It is a splendid animal, three feet high and 

 eight long, having black stripes on a ground of reddish 

 yellow. Tiger-hunts are among the favorite sports of In- 



