40 



The Living Animals of the World 



By permission of Herr Carl Hagenbeck] 



LIONESS AND TIGER. 



[Hamburg. 



The straightness of the lioness's tail is here shown. It is not in the least like that of the tiger 



or of the cat. 



shoulders, growling 

 hoarsely, and with 

 twitching tail, even if he 

 is not near enough to be 

 observed very closely, a 

 lion looks a very savage 

 and dangerous animal ; 

 but should he be wounded 

 in such a way as to admit 

 of a near approach 

 perhaps by a shot that 

 has paralysed his hind- 

 quarters his flaming 

 eyes will seem to throw 

 out sparks of living fire. 

 Speaking generally, 

 there is little or no 

 danger in meeting a 

 lion or lions in the day- 

 time. Even in parts of 

 the country where fire- 

 arms are unknown, and 

 where the natives seldom 

 or never interfere with 

 them, these animals seem 

 to have an instinctive 



fear of man, and even when encountered at the carcase of an animal freshly killed, and at a 

 time when they may be supposed to be hungry, they will almost invariably retreat before 

 the unwelcome presence, sometimes slowly and sulkily, but in districts where much hunting 

 with firearms has been going on at a very rapid pace. However, I have known of two cases 

 of Europeans mounted on horseback having been attacked by lions in broad daylight, and 

 Dr. Livingstone mentions a third. In one of the instances which came within my own knowledge, 

 a lion sprang at a Boer hunter as he was riding slowly along, carrying an elephant-gun in his 

 right hand and followed by a string of natives on foot. The lion attacked from the left side, 

 and with its right paw seized my friend from behind by the right side of his face and neck, 

 inflicting deep gashes with its sharp claws, one of which cut right through his cheek and 

 tore out one of his teeth. My friend was pulled from his horse, but, clutching the loosely 

 girthed saddle tightly with his knees, it twisted round under the horse's belly before he fell 

 to the ground. Instead of following up its success, the lion, probably scared by the shouting 

 of the Kaffirs, trotted away for a short distance, and then turned and stood looking at the 

 dismounted hunter, who, never having lost his presence of mind, immediately shot it dead 

 with his heavy old muzzle-loading elephant-gun. Besides these three instances of Europeans 

 having been attacked in the daytime by lions, I have known of a certain number of natives 

 having been killed in broad daylight. Such incidents are, however, by no means every-day 

 occurrences, and, speaking generally, it may be said that the risk of molestation by lions in 

 Africa during daylight is very small. It is by night that lions roam abroad with stealthy 

 step in search of prey; and at such times they are often, when hungry, incredibly bold and 

 daring. I have known them upon several occasions to enter a hunter's camp, and, regardless 

 of fires, to seize oxen and horses and human beings. 



During the year following the first occupation of Mashonaland in 1890, a great deal of 

 damage was done by lions, which could not resist the attractions of the settlers' live stock. 

 For the first few months I kept as accurate an account as I could of the number of horses, 



