726 Mil. A. LOVERIDGE : NOTICS ON 



of eland came sweepin*;; down the hillside through the thovn-bush 

 ill a most reckless manner. The lions lying on either side of ns, 

 however, rose up and headed the mob with giunts, so that they 

 wheeled at exactly twenty feet from our hide-up and swept on 

 with the magnificent abandon of a cavalry ciiarge. 



Confused noises about a hundred yards further on followed by 

 a roar (such as I have heard a felled bullock in a slaughter-house - 

 give), announced that an eland had been downed by other lions 

 Iviu"- in wait, whilst the remainder of the herd crashed away 

 through the scrub. Right on the heels of the herd as they 

 passed us came at least three lions, Avhoso easy swinging gallop 

 sent a shiver down my spine ; they passed so close that Ave could 

 iiear them panting, and on reaching the kill they made a 

 variety of noises, mostly grunts of satisfaction. Then one gave 

 two I'oars, which \vere answered by lions grunting all up the 

 valley. 



I was greatly impressed by the splendid organization of the 

 drive — lions posted all along the valley to head the herd ofl'. The 

 final coup from the signal grunt to the roar of the beast, which 

 had been sprung upon us, was scai'ce a minute^ I should imagine, 

 and took place with such a . startling suddenness after the 

 former silence that it rather put one's nerves on edge. They 

 soon began rending and feeding upon the carcass in a very. 

 amicable way to the accompaniment of many small sounds, which 

 made me think that they were really a great deal nearer than 

 was the case, for daylight revealed the kill between a hundred 

 and a hundred and fifty yards off, so that I concluded the animal 

 must have carried its lion for the best part of fifty yards after it 

 was sprung upon — and what a. beast it was ! A lino female eland, 

 with horns 27g inches long (front-edge measuicnient), heavy in 

 calf, which must, have been very near birth to judge by its hoofs, 

 which were all that remained of it. A.1I the meat exce[)ting the 

 head and legs luul been eaten, the legs being still attached to the 

 skin with some of the backbone and broken basal portions of. 

 the ribs. 



To return to the lions, however. Following the roars and their 

 replying grunts, came the lions themselves in ones and twos,' 

 grunting all along the way, and many of them passing close to my 

 place of concealment. Though a gentle rain was now falling they 

 presumably smelt me, for several would pause for a moment before 

 padding on to join their comrades at the kill. What astonished 

 me was their good behaviour, an almost entire absence of growling 

 and snarling, merely the munching, lapping and tearing of food, 

 and the small grunts of satisfaction already alluded to. About 

 an hour later — so it seemed to me, but I may liave been wrong — 

 a party went down to the water, which was only fifty yards 

 away, and the sound of lapping was very loud ; then some indivi- 

 dual found the traps (these were set but the pins not removed), 

 which they growled at and dragged about, together with the heavy 

 tree-trunk to whicli they were chained, in the most astonishing 



