4 o 



THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



B) fermiis.on of Htrr Carl Hagtnbtcf] 



LIONESS AND TIGER 



[Hamburg 



The straightness of the hone .i'j tail is here shown. It is not in the least like that of the tiger or 



of the cat 



at bay, with head held 

 low between his shoul- 

 ders, 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 paralyzed 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 day- 

 light 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, donkeys, 



