LION. 369 



It must not, however, be supposed that lions by any means restrict themselves 

 to the flesh of animals which have fallen to their own attacks. The writer last 

 quoted mentions their partiality for the flesh of rhinoceroses, which they are unable 

 to kill themselves, and states that as many as eight or ten have been seen tearing 

 at once at the flesh of one of those animals that had been shot by a hunter of his 

 own. This is confirmed by the statement of Gordon Gumming already mentioned. 



In addition to eating the flesh of animals recently killed, lions will also prey 

 upon carcases in an advanced state of decomposition. This fact was stated long 

 ago by Gordon Gumming, and is fully supported by the observations of Mr. Selous. 

 The latter writer states that when elephants have been shot, " lions will prey upon 

 the stinking carcases as they lie festering in the rays of a tropical sun, and at last 

 become a seething mass of maggots, returning night after night to the feast, until 

 no more meat is left. This occurs in parts of the country abounding in game, 

 where it would give a party of lions but little trouble or exertion to catch a zebra, 

 buffalo, or antelope, and procure themselves a meal of fresh meat. In the same 

 way, no matter how plentiful game may be, lions will almost invariably feast upon 

 any dead animal left by the hunter, from a buffalo to a steinbuck, that they may 

 happen to come across." 



Near villages, when lions grow too old to be able to take game for themselves, 

 Livingstone states that they will take to killing goats ; while women or children 

 who happen to corne in their way at night also become victims. On the other hand, 

 when far away from human habitations, such decrepit lions are stated by the 

 same writer to catch mice and other small Kodents, and will even at times eat grass, 

 although this may be taken medicinally. 



That such lions, which have become too feeble to prey upon game, would 

 naturally develop into " man-eaters," if they were permitted to live, appears highly 

 probable. Mr. Selous believes, however, that the absence of man-eating lions in 

 those parts of Africa with which he is acquainted is due " to the superior boldness 

 of the African natives over those of India, for even amongst the least martial 

 tribes of South Africa, if two or three people are killed by a lion, the population of 

 the surrounding country is roused, and, a party being formed, the lion is usually 

 surrounded and stabbed to death with assegais; whilst, amongst such warlike 

 tribes as the Matabele, if a lion only kills an ox, or even a goat, its fate is usually 

 sealed, or, even if not killed, it gets such a scare that it is glad to quit the district. 

 Such a thing as a man-eater, or even an habitual cattle -slayer, would never be 

 tolerated for an instant." 



According, however, to Mr. Drummond, whose shooting experiences were 

 confined to Eastern South Africa, in the districts of Zululand, Tongaland, and 

 Swaziland, man-eating lions are to be met with in some regions. And this writer 

 relates how he became an accessory to the death of two such man-eaters, one of 

 which had well-nigh depopulated a district, having killed between thirty and forty 

 individuals ; while the second, although dwelling in an uninhabited country full 

 of game, had become notorious for its attacks upon the camps of the hunters. 

 The former, indeed, appeared to be an animal in the full enjoyment of bodily 

 strength, as it is said to have habitually leaped over the high fences which 

 surround the Zulu villages. 



VOL. i. 24 



