MAMMALIA — LION. 175 



in all directions ; they rush into the very danger which they seek to avoid. 

 This fearful sound, which the lion utters, is produced by the great compara- 

 tive size of the larynx, the principal organ of voice in all animals.* He 

 utters it to excite that fear which is necessary to his easy selection of an 

 individual victim. 



" The lion, as well as all of the cat tribe, takes his prey at night ; and it is 

 necessary, therefore, that he should have peculiar organs of vision. In all 

 those animals which seek their food in the dark, the eye is usually of a 

 large size, to admit a great number of rays ; and that part which is called 

 the choroides reflects, instead of absorbing, the light. The power of seeing 

 in the dark, which the cat tribe possesses, has always appeared a subject of 

 mystery ; and it is natural that it should be so, for man himself sees with 

 more difliculty in the dark than any other animal ; he has a compensation 

 in his ability to produce artificial light. This peculiar kind of eye, there- 

 fore, is necessary to the lion to perceive his prey; and he creeps towards it 

 with a certainty which nothing but this distinct nocturnal vision could give. 



" Every one must have observed what are usually called the whiskers on a 

 cat's upper lip. The use of these in a state of nature is very important. 

 They are organs of touch. The slightest contact of these whiskers with 

 any surrounding object is felt most distinctly by the animal, although the 

 hairs are themselves insensible. They stand out on each side, in the lion, 

 as well as in the common cat, so that, from point to point, they are equal to 

 the width of the animal's body. 



" If we imagine, therefore, a lion stealing through a covert of wood in an 

 imperfect light, we shall at once see the use of these long hairs. They in- 

 dicate to him, through the nicest feeling, any obstacle which may present 

 itself to the passage of his body ; they prevent the rustle of boughs and 

 leaves, which would give warning to his prey if he were to attempt to pass 

 through too close a bush ; — and thus, in conjunction with the soft cushions 

 of his feet, they enable him to move towards his victim with a stillness 

 greater even than that of the snake, who creeps along the grass, and is not 

 perceived till he has coiled round his prey." 



* " The size of the larjTix is proportionate to the stiens^th of the sounds which ani- 

 mals utter. The absolute size ot" the larynx of the whale and the elephant is the 

 largest ; but relatively the larynx of the lion has a still greater circumference." — Notes to 

 Blumenbach's Comp. Anatomy, by Lawrence and Coulson, 1827. 



