228 Animal Life 
though the two. former animals roared and howled nightly round my camp and the 
grunting cry of the latter was often heard. Nor was I much more fortunate in this 
respect on my second visit to the same part of the country in 1892, for though I 
spent six weeks: travelling and hunting in the country lying between the Pungwe river 
and Lake Sungwe during October and November of that year, I only saw three lions, 
though there was not a single night during the trip on which I did not hear some of 
these animals roaring, sometimes close to camp, at others in the distance. On several 
occasions, too, I heard three different troops or families of lions roaring on the same 
night. On the day when I saw the three lions, I had left camp with a few native 
followers very early one morning, and was walking across an open plain studded with 
large ant-heaps, from which the long grass had been for the most part burnt off. On 
my right was a small river whose banks were fringed with a thick growth of scrubby 
bush. My course lay parallel to this river but outside the strip of bush. Suddenly 
I came in sight of two lions at a distance of 400 or 500 yards out on the open plain. 
They were advancing at a slow walk towards the river and had been previously 
hidden from our view by some large ant-heaps. These two lions saw us at the same 
moment that we saw them and at once 
halted and stood watching us. Telling 
my native attendants to sit down and 
remain where they were until my return, 
TI commenced to walk towards the lions, 
hoping that they would allow me to 
approach within shot before running 
off, as I knew that these animals, 
which in many parts of Africa are very 
shy and wary, had very little fear of 
man in the Pungwe river district. 
However, before I had advanced fifty 
paces, both lions turned round and 
commenced to walk slowly towards a 
small patch of long yellow grass which 
had escaped the last grass fire. They 
Photograph by Norman B. Smith, Esq. — walked away from me at a very slow 
2 WARTDIIBUCIS and leisurely pace. One seemed a 
monster, the other either a female or a young male with no mane. I now commenced 
to run towards them, and had trotted forwards for a short distance, when a third 
hon that had previously been hidden by a large ant-heap was suddenly revealed to 
me. He had evidently been walking over the plain about 100 yards to the right 
of the other two lions, and, not haying seen me, did not understand why these latter 
had first come to a halt and then turned round and walked back agaim in the 
direction from which they had just come. When I first saw the third lion he was 
standing turned away from me and looking at the other two. Quickly swerving to 
the left but without stopping I almost immediately had a large ant-heap between us, 
and then ran to it at my utmost speed. This ant-heap was quite 20 feet m diameter 
at the base and perhaps 15 feet in height. JI quickly climbed half-way up it and 
then looked round the side, and saw that the single lion was. still standing watching 
the other two, which were at that moment just entermg the patch of long grass of 
which I have already spoken. I now edged myself in a sitting position to the side, 
of the ant-heap nearest the lon and prepared for a shot. He was facing half away 
from me and something more than 200 yards off; but there was not so much as 
a blade of grass in the shape of cover on the level burnt plain between us, and 
