LION 



3453 



LION 



' 



ION, li'un, one of the strongest and 

 most ferocious of wild creatures, known as the 

 "king of beasts" and the "lord of the jungle." 

 With respect to its appearance the lion well 

 deserves these titles, for the powerful frame, 

 large head and abundant growth of mane on 

 the male give it a truly regal bearing, while 

 its ferocity and appalling roar have made it 

 the terror of the numerous animals on which 

 it preys. It is the most famous member of 

 the cat family the cousin of the amiable 

 "tabby" of the fireside. and of the savage tiger, 

 puma, lynx and leopard. Of this group the 

 lion and the tiger are the largest members, 

 and of these two the tiger is the fiercer. 



Those of the "jungle lords" which attain the 

 greatest size are three feet high, nine and a 

 half feet long, measuring from nose to tip of 

 tail, and weigh almost 500 pounds; the ma- 

 jority are perhaps two-thirds as large. The 

 tail, which is one-half as long as the body, ends 

 in a hairy tuft, which, with the mane, is the 

 distinguishing physical characteristic of this 

 member of the cat family. Only the male 

 has a mane, the growth of which begins when 

 the animal is three years old. A lion is full- 

 grown at six or seven years, and lives from 

 thirty to forty years. Pale tawny is the char- 

 acteristic color of the coat, though some speci- 

 mens are reddish, and occasionally a lion is 

 black. The mane is usually darker than the 

 coat and may have blackish 

 patches. Besides being a mark 

 of sex it serves as a protecting 

 shield in the fierce combats for 

 which the "king of beasts" is 

 celebrated. Young kittens have 

 black spots on their fur, but these 

 disappear within a few months 



ter birth. 



Ages ago lions were found in 

 great numbers in Europe, Asia 

 and Africa, but they have been 

 steadily driven back into the wild 

 places by the advance of civili- 

 zation, and now they are extinct 



in Europe, Asia Minor, Arabia and Egypt, and 

 have almost disappeared from India. In Asia 

 they are still found in the swampy lowlands 

 along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and in 

 certain valleys east of the Persian Gulf; the 

 African lion roams the southern parts of the 

 Sahara Desert and the dense swamps of the 

 tributaries of the Upper Nile, and is also found 

 in the Kalihari Desert, in Abyssinia and in Ma- 

 shonaland. The puma (which see) is sometimes 

 called the American lion. 



The Lion of the Wilds. The instinct of the 

 lion to choose its lair in a secluded place is 

 suggested in the following lines by the Scot- 

 tish poet Thomas Pringle: 



Wouldst thou view the lion's den? 



Search afar from haunts of men ; 



Where the reed-encircled rill, 



Oozes from the rocky hill, 



By its verdure far descried 



'Mid the desert brown and wide. 



In dense thickets or patches of reeds, among 

 rocks hidden by thickly-growing brushwood or 

 in thorn-protected caverns, the lion lies sleep- 

 ing through the day, and there are born in 

 the spring season the baby lions. They are 

 usually three in number and, unlike the kit- 

 tens of the domestic cat, come into the world 

 with their eyes open. Both parents are de- 

 voted to their offspring, and the male helps 

 take care of his growing family until the young 

 whelps are well grown. 



It is chiefly at night that the 

 lions hunt their prey. Antelopes, 

 zebras and wild asses are much 

 sought by them, but in those re- 

 gions where wild game is being 

 exterminated by the white man, 

 they attack domestic cattle, goats, 

 pigs, ponies and camels. Their 

 powerful forelegs, nineteen inches 

 around, and their great feet, 

 armed with sharp, horny claws, 

 constitute a terrible weapon 

 whose striking power has been 

 likened to that of a steam-ham- 

 mer. Sometimes they kill their 



