1Wft> (mountain gfyttp 



care of the young; for several weeks she must 

 guard them from hungry foxes, eagles, and 

 lions. Once I saw an eagle swoop and strike a 

 lamb. Though the lamb was knocked heels over 

 head, the blow was not fatal. The eagle wheeled 

 to strike again, but the mother leaped up and 

 shielded the wounded lamb. Eaglets are oc- 

 casionally fed on young lambs, as skulls near 

 eagle's nests in the cliffs bear evidence. 



A number of ewes and lambs one day came 

 close to my hiding-place. One mother had two 

 children; four others had one each. An active 

 lamb had a merry time with his mother, butting 

 her from every angle, rearing up on his hind 

 legs and striking with his head, and occasionally 

 leaping entirely over her. While she lay in 

 dreamy indifference, he practiced long jumps 

 over her, occasionally stopping to have a fierce 

 fight with an imaginary rival. Later he was 

 joined by another lamb, and they proceeded to 

 race and romp all over a cliff, while the mothers 

 looked on with satisfaction. Presently they all 

 lay down, and a number of magpies, apparently 

 hunting insects, walked over them. 



39 



