THE LION 31 



during the two previous nights, lions had made unsuccessful 

 attempts on the native stock. About 2 A.M. the lions 

 arrived, and could be heard grunting and walking about 

 quite close. Although the goat bleated continuously 

 they took not the slightest notice of it, but moved into 

 the village and round the huts, even lying down and 

 rolling when they found a soft place, but always keeping 

 away from the actual spot where Healy sat, so that he 

 never got even a glimpse of them. After an hour or 

 so they went quietly off. The natives said that they 

 could " smell the gun ! " 



When forcing their way into a cattle or goat pen at 

 night lions do not jump or climb over it, but attempt 

 to push their way through underneath, and it is surprising 

 how dense a wall of branches, or even of thorns, they 

 can penetrate, if given time patiently to push and pull 

 aside the obstructions. A barbed wire fence, being an 

 impediment strange to an inexperienced lion, often gives 

 him pause, and one morning at Sabi Bridge the tracks 

 showed how, during the night, a lion had patrolled round 

 and round the five-strand fence without being able to 

 summon the confidence to cross it, although it was very 

 loose in several places. In escaping when alarmed, lions 

 will, as Mr. Selous points out, dash over or through almost 

 any kind of obstacle. 



Sitting up at night over a " kill " is often interesting as 

 a means of observing the habits and methods of these cats. 

 Two lionesses and a lion returned to the carcass of a 

 waterbuck over which one of the rangers was sitting. 

 He watched their movements for a long time before 

 firing, assisted by the light of a quarter moon. The 

 smaller of the lionesses kept both the others from the 

 meat, chasing them away whenever they attempted to 

 approach. After a time the ranger killed the small 



