io ANIMAL LIFE IN AFRICA 



CHAPTER II 



THE LION 



PROBABLY there is no wild animal in creation concerning 

 which so much has been written as the lion, and, seeing 

 how thoroughly his habits Jiave been described by those 

 best qualified to speak of them, little appears left to add. 

 Nevertheless, no work on the subject of African animals 

 would be complete did it not include some remarks 

 upon the ways of this terrible meat-eating cat, whose name 

 in whatever dialect spoken is uttered with bated breath 

 by the dusky inhabitants of the country wherein he 

 dwells, and whose voice, echoing at night from the 

 depths of the lonely forest, instantly stills the chatter 

 round every camp fire. Originally, the lion was probably 

 entirely a northern animal, but he entered Africa many 

 long ages ago, and has since made that continent so 

 much his home, that his name is habitually associated 

 with it, rather than with Europe, whence he has long 

 vanished, or with Asia, where he now lingers locally, 

 and in diminishing numbers. 



At the present day lions have been exterminated 

 through human agency south of the Orange River, but 

 in south Africa they exist in the northern and eastern 

 Transvaal, Swaziland, Zululand, Rhodesia, Portuguese 

 West and East Africa, Bechuanaland, and what was 

 formerly German South West Africa. North of the Zambezi 

 they are to be me with in all the less settled areas of the 

 continent, where game is sufficiently plentiful, and the 

 surroundings are not too unsuited to their habits. 



Though much has been written descriptive of different 

 local races of lions, considerable observation of them 



