CAT KIND. 407 



The lion when hungry boldly attacks all ani- 

 mals that come in his way ; but as he is very for- 

 midable, and as they all seek to avoid him, he is 

 often obliged to hide, in order to take them by 

 surprise. For this purpose he crouches on his 

 belly in some thicket, or among the long grass 

 which is found in many parts of the forest : in 

 this retreat he continues, with patient expecta- 

 tion, until his prey comes within a proper dis- 

 tance, and he then springs after it fifteen or twen- 

 ty feet from him, and often seizes it at the first 

 bound. If he misses the effort, and in two or 

 three reiterated springs cannot seize his prey, he 

 continues motionless for a time, seems to be very 

 sensible of his disappointment, and waits for a 

 more successful opportunity. In the deserts and 

 forests, his most usual prey are the gazelles and 

 the monkeys, with which the torrid regions abound. 

 The latter he takes when they happen to be upon 

 the ground, for he cannot climb trees like the cat 

 or the tiger. He devours a great deal at a time, 

 and generally fills himself for two or three days 

 to come. His teeth are so strong that he very 

 easily breaks the bones, and swallows them with 

 the rest of the body. It is reported that he sus- 

 tains hunger a very long time, but thirst he can- 

 not support in an equal degree, his temperament 

 being extremely hot ; some have even asserted 

 that he is in a continual fever. He drinks as 

 often as he meets with water, lapping it like a 

 cat, which, as we know, drinks but slowly. He 

 generally requires about fifteen pounds of raw 

 flesh in a day j he prefers that of live animals, 



