MAMMALIA—LION. 165 
hunger a very long time; but thirst he cannot support in an equal degtee, 
his temperament being extremely hot. He drinks as often as he meets 
with water, lapping like a dog. He generally requires about fifteen pounds 
of raw flesh in a day ; and seldom devours the bodies of animals when they 
oegin to putrefy ; but he chooses rather to hunt for fresh spoil than return to 
chat which he had half devoured before. While young and active, the lion 
subsists on what he can obtain by the chase, and seldom quits his native 
deserts and forests ; but when he becomes old, heavy, and less qualified for 
exercise, he approaches the habitations of man, to whom, and to domestic 
animals, he then becomes amore dangerous enemy. It is observed, how 
ever, that when he sees men and animals together, itis always on the latter, 
never on the former, that he vents his fury; unless indeed he should be 
struck, and then, at no loss to know whence the blow came, he instantly 
deserts his prey, in order to obtain revenge for the injury. The flesh of the 
camel he is said to prefer to that of any other animal. He is likewise 
exceedingly fond of that of young elephants, which, from their inability to 
resist him till they have received the assistance of their tusks, he easily 
dispatches, when unprotected by the dam; nor are there any animals able 
to oppose the lion, but the elephant, the rhinoceros, the tiger, and the hip- 
popotamus. 
However terrible this animal may be, it is not uncommon, with dogs of a 
large size, and well supported with a proper number of men on horseback, 
to chase him, dislodge him, and force him to retire. But for this enterprise 
it is necessary that the dogs, and even the horses, should be previously 
disciplined ; since almost all animals tremble and fly at the very smell of 
the lion. 
Though the skin of the lion is firm and compact, it is not, however, proof 
against a musket ball, nor even a javelin; but he is seldom known to be 
dispatched with one blow. Like the wolf, he is frequently taken by strata- 
gem; and for this purpose a deep hole is dug in the earth, over which, when 
slightly covered with earth and sticks, some living animal is fastened as a 
bait. When thus entrapped, all his fury subsides; and if advantage is 
taken of the first moments of his surprise, or his disgrace, he may easily be 
chained, muzzled, and conducted to a place of security. 
The flesh of the lion is of a strong and disagreeable flavor; yet the 
negroes and the Indians do not dislike it, and it frequently forms a part of 
their food. 
The good qualities, and particularly the courage and magnanimity of the 
lion, have been the theme of panegyric to Buffon, and other writers on 
natural history. Later naturalists, however, are disposed to estimate his 
merits at a lower rate. “The ‘lordly lion,’” says Godman, “conceals 
himself near the places where deer and other animals come to drink, and 
springs upon them from his ambush, like the veriest tom-cat; having feeble 
sight, and being unfit for the chase, he follows the wild dogs and chacals, 
