802 THE LION'S ROAR. 



village and seize the goats, the inhabitants invariably say, " His 

 teeth are worn out, and he will soon kill somebody ; " and feeling 

 the necessity of defending themselves, they hunt him immediately. 



It is generally believed, on the authority of Buffon, that the lion 

 lives in retirement with his mate, that he hunts in solitary dignity, 

 and will suffer no other carnaria, not even one of his own race, to 

 hunt in his own domain. This is an error. Lions, on the contrary, 

 often assemble in a "hunting-party," four or five in number, when 

 they fly at "high game," such as a buffalo or a giraffe. M. Vardon 

 saw three lions throw themselves at once on a buffalo which he had 

 just wounded with a musket-shot. " During the day-time, in winter," 

 says Delegorgue, " you may frequently see troops of lions, which 

 assemble together for the purpose of marking off and driving the 

 game towards the ravines, or wooded glens difficult of access, where 

 some of their companions are posted ; these are strict battues, con- 

 ducted without any noise, the odours of the lions being sufficient to 

 enforce the retreat of the herbivora which they pursue." The lion 

 himself may, in his turn, be chased and tracked with dogs, like a 

 wild boar, a wolf, or a stag ; but most frequently the hunters pursue 

 and shoot him on foot, and this is but a pleasure-jaunt for a man of 

 sang-froid, if a good shot, and well acquainted with the animal's habits. 



We know that the roar of the lion that is, of the hungry lion 

 is considered the most terrible of cries, which inspires all the animals, 

 and even man, with unconquerable dread. It appears, however, that 

 man to say nothing of his dogs speedily grows accustomed to it, 

 and that the lion, in his turn, cannot be frightened by the barking of 

 the latter. A very curious fact, remarked by Livingstone, is the 

 singular resemblance of the lion's roar to the cry of the ostrich. " I 

 have carefully inquired," says the great African traveller, "the opinion 

 of Europeans who have heard both. I have asked them if they could 

 discover the least difference between the roar of the one and the cry 

 of the other. They have all informed me that they could not perceive 

 any, at whatever distance the animal might be placed. The voice of 

 the lion, generally, is deeper than the ostrich's ; but up to the present 



