THE LION 113 



generally thought. It seldom meddles with man voluntarily ; 

 but when man intrudes himself into the Lion's domicile, it 

 is no wonder that the animal should attack him. Indeed, 

 the Amatonga tribe did their best to dissuade Baldwin from 

 killing the Lion, because they looked upon it as affording a 

 supply of food, killing more than it could eat, and leaving 

 the rest for them. If a man should come unexpectedly 

 upon a Lion, the animal will invariably slink off, unless it 

 should be taken very much by surprise, in which case it 

 would probably fly at the intruder in self-defence. Says 

 Gordon Gumming : 



'One day, while out elephant-hunting, accompanied by 

 two hundred and fifty men, I was astonished suddenly to 

 behold a majestic Lion, slowly and steadily advancing 

 towards us. Lashing his tail from side to side and growl- 

 ing angrily, he displayed a show of ivory that caused the 

 two hundred and fifty Bechuanas to take headlong flight. 

 In the confusion of the moment, eight of my dogs were 

 allowed to escape from their couples. These instantly faced 

 the Lion, who now became solicitous for the safety of 

 his little family, with which the Lioness was retreating in 

 the background. Turning about, he followed her with a 

 haughty and independent step, growling fiercely at the dogs 

 which trotted along at either side of him.' 



Had she been without her mate, the Lioness would 

 probably have charged the enemy without consideration of 

 consequences ; but the male is never to be feared as much 

 as the female, especially when she has her young to guard. 

 When she is alone, she is more likely to attack than her 

 consort ; but even she will rather escape than fight. 



Thanks to the many menageries up and down our 

 country, and the ease with which the Lion is bred in 

 captivity, there are few who have not heard the Lion's 

 roar. But a Lion's roar in a menagerie is one thing, 

 and a Lion's roar in the open country at night is 

 another. ' Frequently it is a low, deep moaning, repeated 

 five or six times, ending in faintly audible sighs. At others, 

 he startles the forest with solemn roars reiterated in quick 

 succession, each increasing in loudness to the third or 

 fourth, when his voice dies away in low, muffled sounds 



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