The Lion 93 



The fanciful opinion that a lion disdains to eat game 

 that he has not stricken himself, vanishes at once. Derog- 

 atory to his dignity as it may be, the fact is that he will 

 consume anything he finds dead, that his taste is of the 

 most indiscriminate character, and that he is very fre- 

 quently a foul feeder. " Many instances," says Andersson 

 ("The Lion and the Elephant"), "have come to my 

 knowledge which show that when half famished he will 

 not only greedily devour the leavings of other beasts, but 

 even condescend to carrion." In another work ("Lake 

 N'gami") the same author states that lions eat carrion 

 without being " half famished." Sir Samuel Baker (" Nile 

 Tributaries of Abyssinia ") saw several that he knew were 

 not pressed by hunger feeding on the putrid body of a 

 buffalo shot by himself, and Gerard ("Journal des Chas- 

 seurs ") very nearly lost his life by a lioness who had come 

 to feed upon the carcass of a horse in the last stages of 

 decomposition Lions appropriate any meat they may 

 happen to find. "I have frequently discovered them 

 feasting on quadrupeds that had fallen before my rifle," 

 remarks Colonel Gumming ("A Hunter's Life in Africa"). 

 Major Leveson (" Sport in Many Lands "), W. H. Drum- 

 mond (" The Large Game and Natural History of South- 

 ern Africa "), Colonel Delgorgue, ("Voyage dans I'Afrique 

 Australe"), Sir W. C. Harris, (" Wild Sports in Southern 

 Africa"), and H. C. Selous ("A Hunter's Wanderings 

 in Africa"), all confirm the assertion that "lions are by 

 no means too proud to eat game killed by others." This 

 charge must be admitted, and it is entirely conformable 

 with another; namely, that his majesty is one of the 



