CREATURES OF THE WILDERNESS 95 



jaguar, is a tiger, though known as such. 

 But there are real lions in India, or at any rate 

 in the forest of Gir, in Kathiawar. They are 

 small but very fierce, and have yellow manes. 

 The Nawab of Joonagur strictly preserves these 

 interesting animals, though occasionally allow- 

 ing distinguished visitors to shoot them. Thus, 

 Ranjitsinhji, now Jam of Nawanagar, was lucky 

 enough to bag one in 1904. Another hunt was 

 planned for the Governor of Bombay a few years 

 ago, and on this occasion one of the party, 

 Major Carnegy, was killed. It is usual to 

 speak of Kathiawar as the last Indian strong- 

 hold of this lion of Asia, which is much more 

 plentiful in the neighbouring countries of Persia 

 and Mesopotamia, but as a matter of fact there 

 is no evidence to show that it was ever very 

 widely distributed in India proper, where, in- 

 deed, the steaming swamps and gloomy jungle 

 are quite unsuited to the needs of an animal 

 that, if we may judge by the haunts of its 

 African relative, loves sunshine and dry soil. 

 It is a curious fact that tigers are all but un- 

 known in the district inhabited by lions, which 

 makes it impossible to say which of the rival 

 monarchs would be the victor in a fight under 

 natural conditions, although in menageries the 

 tiger has generally proved the better of the two. 

 The lions of India need not further detain us. 

 They do no damage outside of the preserve in 



