ORDER CARNASSIER. 429 



The period of gestation of the Lioness is about one hun- 

 dred and eight days, and the young, when first born, are 

 very small in proportion to their adult size. They arrive 

 at maturity in about five years, and are then nearly eight 

 feet in the length of the body, with a tail of about four feet. 

 If we judge from the length of their nonage, and from their 

 size and general constitution, as observed by Buffbn, it 

 should seem probable, that the average life of this animal 

 does not exceed twenty-five years ; though it has been said, 

 that some have been kept in a state of confinement for 

 nearly three times this period. The mane appears to in- 

 crease as the Lion advances in age, and not to depend for 

 its growth on that of the animal. The female is without it 

 altogether. The Lion laps in drinking, but turns the tongue 

 downwards, contrarywise to the Dog. 



It seems needless to enter into any general description of 

 an animal so well known. We shall only therefore, in 

 reference to its organs of sense, observe, that the pupil of 

 the eye is circular ; the external ear small, rounded with a 

 lobule on the outer edge like that of the common Cat. 

 Their other organs of sense in common with those of loco- 

 motion and generation, the peculiar retractibility of the 

 claws, and system of dentition, correspond also with the 

 Domestic Cat. 



When young, the Lion has no trace of the mane or of the 

 tuft at the end of the tail. These appear at about three 

 years old. The hair of their body is then partially curled 

 and tufted, and not smooth as in the adult state of the 

 animal. It is remarkable also, that when young, they 

 have a dark dorsal line, together with several transverse 

 parallel dark stripes and faint spots, which give them the 

 appearance, to an inexperienced eye, of being young Tigers. 

 They are born with the eyes open, but the external ear is 

 semipendant and does not become erect for two months. 



2 G 2 



