108 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



is lazier than the rest of the Cat family and avoids 

 extended journeys, trying to make life as easy as pos- 

 sible. Selous' experiences taught him that the South 

 African Lion prefers feasting off the game some 

 hunter has killed to exerting himself to capture his 

 own prey. This is why fc in East Soudan, he regularly 

 follows nomadic tribes wherever they go. He goes 

 with them into the treeless plain and returns with 

 them to the forest; he regards them as his tributary 

 subjects and the taxes he levies on them are indeed 

 of the heaviest kind. His manner of life is noctur- 

 nal. He is seldom met with in daytime in the for- 

 est; probably only when sought for and disturbed 

 in his lair by Dogs. 



He does not visit the vicinity of villages before 

 the third hour of night. The Arabs aver that "he 

 roars thrice to apprise all animals of his coming and 

 warn them to keep out of his way." Unfortunately 

 this good opinion is based upon rather imaginary 

 premises, for whenever I heard the roar of the Lion, 

 I was always sure to learn that he had previously 

 slunk into the village and stolen an Ox or Cow. 

 Other writers also concur with me, that he often 

 comes "like a thief in the night." 



Yet the Arabs are not wholly wrong, but only put 

 a wrong construction on facts. I have never believed 

 the roar to be a warning, but have been led to think 

 that its purpose is to disturb the whole locality, thus 

 causing the other animals to flee, and perhaps in 

 their confusion to run right into the fangs of either 

 the roaring Lion himself, or a hunting companion of 

 his. 

 Lion's Attach I am fully persuaded that when a Lion 



on a Cattle breaks into a roar near an enclosure in 



Enclosure, which Cattle are guarded, his sole pur- 

 pose is to render them so mad with fear that they 

 will blindly try to break out. I will attempt to de- 

 scribe the Lion's attack upon such an enclosure. 



At sunset the nomad has led his herd into the 

 seriba (camp), closed in by a fence about nine feet 

 high and three wide, woven out of the thorny 

 branches of the mimosa: the most secure wall that 

 he can build. The Sheep bleatingly call their young 

 ones; the Cows have been milked and are at rest. 

 A pack of Dogs mounts guard. Gradually all noises 

 die away and the peace of night descends on the 

 scene. The Women and Children have gone to 

 sleep, and the Men are returning from their work to 

 the huts. Bats come down from the trees and glide 

 over the camp like ghosts. Everything else is quiet 

 and in repose. Even the Dogs have ceased their 

 yelping, although still intent on their faithful watch 

 and keep. 



Suddenly it seems as if the very earth quakes; a 

 Lion roars in closest proximity. He truly deserves 

 his name of " Essed," that is, "the causer of alarm," 

 for the greatest confusion reigns in the seriba. The 

 Sheep run against the thorny fence as if insane; the 

 Goats bleat loudly; the Cattle gather together with 

 moans; the Camels try to break all fetters in their 

 mad longing for flight, and the courageous Dogs, 

 which have been victorious in many a fight with 

 Leopards and Hyenas, howl loudly and plaintively 

 and seek the protection of their masters. With one 

 gigantic leap the powerful animal clears the wall and 

 selects his prey. One blow with his fearful paw fells 

 a young Ox, whose neck the Lion breaks with its 

 huge jaws. With a low growl the robber lies on his 



[>rey; his eyes glow and his tail lashes the air. He 

 ets go of the dying animal, and again closes his 

 teeth on it until it ceases to move. Then he beats 



his retreat. He must go back over the wall, but 

 does not intend to leave his victim. All his strength 

 is taxed to take such a leap with the prey in his 

 mouth, but he succeeds. I have seen a Lion with a 

 two-year-old Ox clear a wall over six feet high. I 

 have also seen the deep impress the Ox left in the 

 sand, when the Lion dropped it on the other side, 

 previous to taking it up again. The Oxen in those 

 countries are not as heavy as ours. Often one sees 

 the furrow which the animal had made when being 

 dragged to the place at which he was devoured. 



The Terrific The fact is well known that all animals 

 Roar which know the Lion will tremble at the 



of the Lion- mere sound of his voice. Yet we must 

 not think that the Lion lets his roar re-echo through 

 the wilderness at all times. His usual sounds are a 

 long-drawn tone, like the mewing of a giant Cat, and 

 a deep growl. When frightened he utters a short 

 "huff" or "wau." His real roar is uttered compara- 

 tively seldom, and many people who have visited 

 countries inhabited by Lions have never heard it. 

 The roar is characteristic of the whole animal, and 

 may appropriately be called the expression of his 

 power. It is the only one of its kind, and is sur- 

 passed in fullness of tone by the voice of no living 

 creature except the male Hippopotamus, according 

 to Pechuel-Loesche. The Arabs have a pertinent 

 expression for it: " raad," meaning "thunder." It 

 seems to come from the very depth of the chest and 

 to strain it to the utmost. 



The effect of the King's voice on his subjects 

 is indescribable. The howling Hyena is stricken 

 dumb, though not for long; the Leopard ceases to 

 grunt; the Monkeys utter a loud, gurgling sound and 

 mount to the highest tree-tops; the Antelopes rush 

 through the bushes in a mad flight; a bleating flock 

 becomes silent; the laden Camel trembles and list- 

 ens no longer to its driver's appeal, but throws load 

 and rider off and seeks salvation in flight; the Horse 

 rears, snorts and rushes back; the Dog unused to the 

 chase creeps up to his master with a wail. 



The Lion The North African Lion, when within the 



in Search reach of a village, seeks nowhere else for 



of Prey. prey. He is an unpleasant visitor and 

 difficult to get rid of; the more so, as he is possessed 

 of a great deal of craft. Livingstone also says: 

 "When the Lion is too old to hunt, he frequents the 

 villages in search of Goats, and if a Woman or Child 

 crosses his path, he attacks them instead. The Lions 

 which attack human beings are always old ones, and 

 it is a common saying among the natives, when a 

 Lion has helped himself to a Goat in a village: ' His 

 teeth are used up; he will soon kill a human being.'" 



In an attack on wild animals the Lion behaves 

 quite differently. He knows that they scent him 

 from afar and are fleet-footed enough to escape. 

 Therefore he lies in ambush for them or slinks up 

 to them, sometimes with others of his own kind, 

 keeping well to leeward of the victims, and hunts 

 them not only at night but even in broad daylight. 

 Still such day hunts are always the exception. Gen- 

 erally he awaits dusk at least before he sets out on 

 his prowlings. He follows wild herds as well as the 

 herds of Cattle, and like other Felidae he likes to lie 

 in wait in such places as water-courses in open ground 

 where the animals of the wilderness come to drink. 



According to Livingstone the Lion seizes his prey 

 usually in the neck, or in the flanks, where he is most 

 fond of beginning his meal. Selous corroborates the 

 statement that the Lion always begins devouring 

 his victim at the flanks and first eats the intestines 



