CHAPTER V 



THE LION AND HIS KIN 



A Surprising Relationship — The Lion's Mane — The Sabre-toothed 

 Tiger — Some Theories about Origins — Sea-Hons in Love — Some 

 Strange Ornaments — Whales and Weapons. 



That the Lion and the Lamb could possibly have been 

 derived from the same stock seems incredible : yet such 

 is the case, though the pedigree is now well-nigh lost 

 in the mists of a hoary antiquity. It is not surprising, 

 then, that in their present-day garb they should show 

 so little in common. Nor is it strange that among their 

 many points of divergence the one should differ so con- 

 spicuously from the other in the matter of secondary 

 sexual characters. For when these are conspicuous 

 among the Ungulates they usually take the form of 

 horns, of which the Carnivores have no need, for the 

 teeth and claws whereby they win their daily portion of 

 meat make equally serviceable weapons of offence when 

 turned against their own kind. 



Among the larger Carnivora, the Lion alone displays 

 any obvious distinction between the sexes in the matter 

 of ornament, and this in the form of the well-known 

 mane. Darwin, and later authorities, have regarded this 



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