Appendix 307 



vicinity, and all have been caused by man-eaters. Lions 

 were attracted around my camp by meat. 



When you meet them in the daytime they generally 

 make off at walking pace in a very dignified and impressive 

 way, every now and then turning round. As soon as they 

 think they are out of sight they gallop away as quickly as 

 possible. 



The fact of the matter is that you never know how a 

 lion which you meet is going to behave. It may run away 

 or it may make for you. In the latter case, it is 

 because its young are near, or because your approach has 

 interrupted a meal, or simply because you have put it in a 

 bad humour by waking it up, or for any of a thousand 

 other causes unknown to you. 



First signs of anger are shown as follows : its tail 

 rapidly twists from side to side, the bottom slightly rising ; 

 and, the black tassel at the end beating the air, it lowers 

 its head more than usual and growls, at intervals showing 

 its teeth. Then its voice becomes louder, it roars, shows 

 its teeth, and lowers its ears, the movements of the tail 

 increasing all the time. At the time of charging that is, 

 at the height of its anger the tail rises in the air until 

 it is almost vertical, the black tassel continues to move, the 

 ears are flattened completely, and the animal comes towards 

 you at a slow trot, then at a gallop, and finally springs for- 

 ward with open mouth and extended claws. Sometimes it 

 shows these various symptoms without charging, restrained 

 by prudence ; but it never charges without showing them. 

 When the tail rises the hunter can bring his rifle to his 

 shoulder and await his opportunity. In hunting, a man 

 who is on his guard is worth four. A charge is extremely 

 dangerous, almost always fatal when unexpected, either 

 because of dense vegetation or other causes ; but if you see 

 the animal getting ready, flight is useless. Stand your 

 ground : the only thing to do is to keep cool and trust in 

 your weapon. If you have not confidence in yourself it is 



