324 THE REDISCOVERED COUNTRY 



the fine quaKty of the manes. Roosevelt and Heller in- 

 stance as a remarkable thing that once in the Lordo they 

 heard a lion roar after sunrise. In this New Country Hons 

 very often roared up to ten o'clock in the morning. As a 

 general thing, of course, lions roar at night. But these 

 beasts refuse to be bound by rules. I once saw three of them 

 eating a decomposed waterbuck just at noon of a hot day! 

 It is curious that lions seem to vary Httle in numbers in 

 one part of the country or another. Of course I cannot 

 even guess at the probable lion population per square 

 mile. In an unvisited country where no lions are ever 

 touched, the average density seems to be no greater than 

 in comparatively civilized districts where a hundred or 

 so are killed per year. At first blush it would seem only 

 reasonable that in the former conditions they should fairly 

 overrun the whole place; but this is not so. Whether the 

 numbers are constantly recruited by immigration, or 

 whether, as at present seems to me more likely, the birth 

 rate varies according to conditions, it is of course impossible 

 to say. 



2. Leopard (Jelis pardus). — Very generally distributed 

 in about the usual abundance. We heard them in every 

 part of the country. 



3. Cheetah {acinonyx juhatus) . — In the covered country 

 we saw none of these animals, though they may well occur. 

 Only west of Ikorongo did we begin to come across them 

 in or near the small open plains. 



4. Spotted Hyena {crocuta crocuta germinans). — Com- 

 mon everywhere. Heard practically every night. 



5. Wild Dog {lycaon pictus lupinus). — Saw one near 



