Appendix 303 



wind is in your favour, draw near and kill it point-blank. 

 But it is a dangerous experiment. 



The rhinoceros ranks after the elephant as the largest 

 animal, and its approach at night or in the daytime is 

 always very impressive. The number of people who have 

 been forced to climb into trees, in positions sometimes 

 comical, bv a charging rhinoceros is considerable. Although 



' / O O 



accidents are less frequent than with the elephant, they do 

 often occur with an animal so irascible. 



LION (Felis leo) 



The LION. Only one species Difference between the wild animal and the 

 menagerie specimen Measurements and weight of an adult Colour of 

 the skin Legends about the lion Their mistrustfulness Various 

 ways of dealing with a lion Signs of anger The charge Attempts to 

 intimidate -Hours at which they roar Nocturnal fights The lion's 

 enemies Its lairs Lioness's period of gestation Skin of the cubs 

 Troops of lions. 



I will here complete in a few words what the preceding 

 chapters have said on the habits of the lion. Once more 

 let me repeat that there is in my opinion, and in that of all 

 hunters of any experience, only one species of lion. The 

 lion's coat changes colour or thickness according to its en- 

 vironment. That of the plateaus of Atlas and Kilimandjaro, 

 at an altitude of 13,000 feet, must naturally have a thicker 

 coat than that which inhabits the sandy plains of the 

 equatorial regions ; the mane w T hich catches in thorny 

 thickets is not so thick as that of the animal which lives 

 on grassy plains ; but, yellow or brown, with or without 

 mane, it is the same animal. At the Cape, at Tanganyika, 

 and in the country of the Somalis, you will find adult lions 

 of absolutely the same species, magnificent animals, of 

 which you can obtain but a poor idea from the specimens 

 in menageries. 



