THE WILDERNESS 39 



bear and elephant in the forest ; the lion and 

 rhinoceros, with antelopes and other horned 

 game, in the open grass plains ; the giraffe, 

 with antelopes and gazelles, in the desert ; and 

 the wild sheep and goats, with bears, above the 

 timber on the mountain-sides. The distinction 

 in environment between the lion and tiger is 

 sufficiently illustrated by their respective haunts 

 in Asia. The Asiatic lion is confined to Persia, 

 Mesopotamia and a single forest in Kathiawar. 

 The lions of Gir (Kathiawar) are commonly 

 spoken of as the last surviving Indian members 

 of the species, a statement which implies that 

 lions were at one time common elsewhere in that 

 peninsula. This, however, far from being 

 assured, is exceedingly improbable, for the 

 steaming jungles of the East are far more suited 

 to the tiger. The lion, on the other hand, 

 prefers the moderately dry regions of which it 

 finds such choice in Africa, though it is not 

 partial to the arid desert tracts of that con- 

 tinent in which the giraffe finds sanctuary from 

 its most dreaded natural enemy. 



Everywhere we shall find the wild creatures 

 perfectly adapted to their surroundings ; not 

 one single mistake in Nature's menagerie. 

 The abnormal extremes of flood or drought 

 may occasion temporary suffering, but these 

 are met, where possible, by migration to kinder 

 conditions. The kangaroo is at home on the 



