WITH FLASH-LIGHT AND RIFLE 



number of eggs and also some young birds just hatched. 

 I was astonished to see that the lions had disdained the 

 young ostriches. But a close investigation of the 

 surrounding ground revealed to me the truth. The 

 parent ostriches had, apparently, become aware of the 

 approach of the big felines in time and had decoyed 

 them away from their nest, inducing the lions to follow 

 them on their feigned flight. I noticed from the tracks 

 how the lions, about a hundred paces from the nest, sud- 

 denly changed their course and followed the big birds, 

 which they, of course, had no chance to catch. After 

 a while — the impressions of their paws told the tale — 

 the lions gave up the pursuit and continued on their 

 path at a slower gait. Thus the parents had saved 

 their brood. 



The lions very seldom hunt in daytime, except, per- 

 haps, during the cooler season of the year. During the 

 heat of day they prefer to rest in the shade of trees or 

 thickets. Even captive lions dislike heat, and show a 

 marked disinclination to perform their tricks in hot 

 weather. The lion can stand cold easily. Some kinds 

 of hons, in Asia for instance, live in high latitudes, al- 

 though they are not found as far north as is the Siberian 

 tiger, who lives in the midst of snow and ice, protected 

 against the inclemency of the climate by a thick coat of 

 fur. In the time preceding the glacial epoch and during 

 its early stages, lions roamed over all Southern Europe, 

 Germany, France, and the British Isles, and survived in 



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