THE LION 23 



his single-loading .400, but he stood quite rigid. At 

 the last moment, and when not more than three yards 

 away, the animal suddenly swerved, and, passing round 

 him to the left, turned when she had gone seven yards, 

 and lay down facing him, her head on her paws and her 

 tail twitching up and down. He then killed her. As a rule; 

 lions run away after being wounded and only charge 

 when followed up, but this cannot always be depended 

 upon, and some, especially lionesses, will come almost 

 on the shot. 



One day the same ranger was riding along the path 

 about a hundred yards ahead of his wagon, between 

 which and himself were being driven seven pack donkeys. 

 It was about 4 P.M. and he was not far from one of the 

 rest camps which are built at intervals along most of the 

 main routes in the Game Reserve, when he suddenly heard 

 a cry of " lions ! " and, turning round, saw a lion in the 

 act of rushing at the donkeys, and not more than twenty 

 yards from them. 



On his firing, the animal stopped, and, wheeling about, 

 walked quite slowly away, when a second bullet killed it. 

 It proved to be a young adult male, very thin and wasted, 

 its pads full of porcupine quills. No doubt porcupines 

 are indirectly responsible for the deaths of quite a large 

 number of lions ; the latter are either specially fond of 

 porcupine meat, or else young inexperienced animals, 

 seeing in these rodents apparently defenceless and easily 

 caught prey, are tempted to seize them. Upon being 

 attacked, the porcupine, having recourse to his only 

 method of defence, discharges his sharp quills into the 

 body of his aggressor, and the pavvs, which are the instru- 

 ments mainly used for seizing the prey, receive in their 

 pads a large proportion of the spines. Keen as needles, 

 these gradually work their way into the foot, and set 



