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C A T. 



rivers, or to the forests of acacias and other trees, 

 where there are still food and browsing animals. In 

 the former places the larger antelopes and buffaloes 

 are to be met with ; and in the latter the giraffe, an 

 animal which subsists chiefly upon the leaves of trees. 

 The antelope is an easy prey ; because the spring of 

 the lion is sufficient at once to dislocate the spine of 

 that animal, or to fell it to the ground ; but the buffalo 

 and the giraffe are a prey which require more art in 

 the capture. It is true that several species of the 

 antelope will attack the lion baldly, and transfix him 

 with their horns if they find him in the open plain ; 

 but if he can spring upon them they are incapable of 

 resistance. 



The buffalo and the giraffe must also yield if the 

 spring is rightly taken ; but they are much stronger 

 animals, and unless the lion can grapple at once with 

 the muzzle of the buffalo, the skin of that animal is so 

 firm, and its muscular powers so great, that it is able 

 to shake off the lion, and turn and toss him with its 

 horns, and trample and kneel him to death, before he 

 can make his escape. He therefore springs upon it 

 so that he can retain his hold on the shoulders 

 with the hind feet, and grasping the muzzle and 

 chin with his paws, wrench the neck aside till it 

 is dislocated, or till his weight, acting on the lever 

 power thus obtained, throws the animal down and 

 enables him to despatch it by tearing the throat. 

 This mode of attack requires the spring to be taken 

 with more certainty, and also rather at a shorter 

 distance than is necessary in the weaker animals; 

 and consequently it requires more lying in wait. Buf- 

 faloes are also animals of very keen scent, and hence it 

 is probably necessary that the lion should " take the 

 wind" of them. They are also strongly excited by 

 the sight of blood ; and thus they are never in such 

 repose near where the marks of former slaughter are 

 to be found as that the lion can with certainty attack 

 them. Thus, buffalo hunting is one of the hardest 

 occupations of the lion, and consequently one to 

 which he never resorts, while any other can be 

 carried on. 



The giraffe is not so formidable at close quarters 

 as the buffalo, but still there are difficulties attending 

 its capture. Its feeding grounds are not the most 

 tangled parts of the forests, but rather those in which 

 the surface of the ground is comparatively clear, and 

 the trees on whose foliage the animal feeds at some 

 distance from each other. He cannot steal upon the 

 giraffe so as to spring at it in front, because, in that 

 case, he would merely catch the tree, and the animal 

 would escape beyond his reach before he had so far 

 recovered himself as to be in a condition to spring a 

 second time. There are also difficulties in an attack on 

 their rear. From the position of its eyes the giraffe 

 commands the view behind it much better than that 

 before, especially when it is feeding, with its long 

 neck extended upward to the branches. There is 

 also a very powerful weapon, as well as a watchful 

 eye, in the rear of this animal ; for its hind leg, though 

 much shorter than the fore one, is yet so long, and it 

 can strike out with so much rapidity, that a sinjle 

 blow taking effect, would fell the lion to the ground, 

 or even fracture his scull. This animal has therefore 

 to be taken by stratagem, more so perhaps than even 

 the buffalo ; and it is chiefly when it resorts to the 

 water, and is in the act of drinking, that it becomes 

 the prey of the lion. Long as its neck is, it has to 

 place the fore feet at a considerable distance from 



each other in order that it may reach the water, and 

 the position of its head when so doing prevents the 

 use of the eyes and the ear. Thus it is incapable of 

 observing the approach of its enemy, and it is not 

 in a good attitude for striking with the hind foot, 

 although it could see him. 



The places where water is found in the dry season, 

 which is the chief time at which the lion preys on the 

 giraffe, are, generally speaking, rather favourable for 

 the attack of the lion. African rains fall so fast, and 

 flood the water-courses so suddenly and to such an 

 extent, that these are deeply worn, and in many 

 places present rocks and hummocks high above the 

 surface of the water in the dry season. On these 

 the lion takes his post at the usual time when the 

 giraffe comes to drink ; and thus he is enabled to fling 

 himself on the body of the animal, and tear its flesh 

 with both claws and teeth, while it darts off at its 

 swiftest pace. But it has no means of shaking off the 

 spoiler; and thus, as the giraffe is not a very swift 

 animal, the fatigue of the flight, the weight of the lion, 

 and the agony produced by the action of all his 

 lacerating instruments, speedily bring it to the ground, 

 where it is soon in pieces. It is impossible to know 

 experimentally what is the degree of pain occasioned 

 by a lion riding on an animal and rending it all the 

 time ; because no one can feel that terrible infliction 

 and survive to give any account of it. But if we may 

 judge from casual wounds given by the clutch of one 

 paw, or even of a single claw, we can easily perceive 

 that it must be among the most terrible tortures to 

 which the living body of an animal can be subjected, 

 in consequence of mechanical laceration ; and it is 

 possible that, as the breath of the lion is peculiarly 

 offensive, that there may be some quality in that, or 

 the saliva, which may increase the irritation and 

 agony of the wounding. The mechanical action is, 

 however, of itself sufficient to produce great pain, by 

 all the instruments which are at work for the destruc- 

 tion of the victim. The claws and the great canine 

 teeth have all, to a certain extent, angular or tearing 

 ridges, sharp enough to wound, but not so much so 

 as to make a clean wound, while the tearing teeth, 

 both by the form, and the double motion of gnashing 

 them against each other, and writhing the bite, must 

 much increase the pain to the animal ; and it is 

 possible that the abrasion produced by the tongue, 

 with its thickly set and sharply pointed hooks, may 

 not, after the skin has been divided to a considerable 

 extent, be among the most painful parts of the pro- 

 cess. There is this advantage, however, that not 

 the most powerful animal can live long under the 

 claws and teeth of the lion. 



It is, however, when the elements are in all their 

 grandeur, that the lion appears to be most in his 

 glory and in his element. It has been already men- 

 tioned, the favourite times for the roaring of the lion 

 are about sun-set, or a little after, upon those nights 

 of lurid and portending skies, where there is every 

 probability that the resistance of the lower atmosphere 

 will give way, and the storm break about the turn of 

 the night. We find that the portending storm, after 

 long drought, produces an unusual stir among the ani- 

 mated tribes.even among those of our peaceful climate; 

 and it will readily be understood, that where things-are 

 on so much grander a scale as they are in Southern 

 Africa, the excitement must be proportionally great. 

 The fresh activity thus displayed is, on the part of the 

 animals, a grateful though instinctive anticipation of 



