THE AFRICAN LION. 



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Amid the far-off hills, 

 With eye of fire, and shaggy mane upreared, 

 The sleeping Lion in- his den sprang up; 

 Listened awhile — then laid his monstrous mouth 

 Close to the floor, and breathed hot roarings out 

 In fierce reply. — Edwin Atherstone. 



(1821) 



THE common opinion of the Lion 

 from the remotest times is that 

 he is King of Beasts, and a single 

 glance at his face of majesty is 

 sufficient to make us accept it. Kij 

 roar is terrific, and the fact is well 

 Vnown that all animals tremble at the 

 mere sound of his voice. The effect of 

 it on his subjects is said to be indescrio- 

 able. ''The howling Hyena is stricken 

 dumb, though not for long; the Leop- 

 ard ceases to grunt ; the Monkeys utter 

 a loud, gurgling sound and mount to 

 the highest tree-tops ; the Antelopes 

 rush through the bushes in a mad flight ; 

 a bleating flock becomes silent, the 

 laden Camel trembles and listens no 

 longer to his driver's appeal, but throws 

 load and rider ofT and seeks salvation 

 in flight; the Horse rears, snorts, and 

 rushes back ; the Dog, unused to th^ 

 chase, creeps up to his master with a 

 wail." But it is said we must not think 

 that the Lion lets his roar re-echo 

 through the wilderness at all times. 

 His usual sounds are a deep growl and a 

 long-drawn tone, like the mewing of a 

 giant Cat. His real roar is uttered 

 comparatively seldom, and many peo- 

 ple who have visited countries inhab- 

 ited by Lions have never heard it. It 

 is the only one of its kind, and is sur- 

 passed in fullness of tone by the voice 

 of no living creature except the male 

 Hippopotamus, according to Pechnel- 

 Loesche. "The Arabs have a pertinent 

 expression for it: 'raad' meaning thun- 

 der. It seems to come from the very 

 depth of the chest and to strain it to 

 the utmost." 



This Lion is distributed all over Cen- 

 tral and Southern Africa. They are 

 regularly met with on the banks of the 

 Blue and White Nile, and in the des- 

 erts of Central and Southern Africa they 

 are of common occurrence. 



The Lion leads a solitary life, living 

 with his mate only during the breeding 



season. Selous says that In South Af- 

 rica one more frequently meets four or 

 five Lions together than single speci- 

 mens, and troops of ten or twelve are 

 not extraordinary. His experience 

 taught him that the South African Lion 

 prefers feasting off the game some hun- 

 ter has killed to exerting himself to 

 capture his own prey. This is why 

 he regularly follows nomadic tribes 

 wherever they go; he regards them as 

 his tributary subjects and the taxes he 

 levies on them are indeed of the heav- 

 iest kind. 



The Cubs are usually two or three 

 and the Lioness treats them with great 

 tenderness. They play together like 

 Kittens. In well-managed zoological 

 gardens Lions are now bred as care- 

 fully as Dogs; and even in circuses, 

 where the animals have but little room 

 and often Insufficient nourishment, they 

 are born and sometimes grow up. The 

 Cubs are at first rather clumsy. They 

 are born with their eyes open and are 

 about half the size of a Cat. Towards 

 the close of the first year they are about 

 the size of a strong Dog. In the third 

 year the mane begins to appear on the 

 male, but full growth and distinction of 

 sex, according to Brehm, are only com- 

 pleted in the sixth or seventh year. 

 Lions in captivity have lived to be sev- 

 enty years old. 



Brehm, who loved the Lion and was 

 probably better acquainted with his 

 habits than any other traveler, says: 

 "The most prominent naturalists give 

 the Lion credit for qualities which in 

 my opinion include nobility enough. 

 And whoever has become more closely 

 acquainted with that animal; whoever 

 has, like myself, intimately known a 

 captive Lion for years, must think as I 

 do ; he must love and esteem it as much 

 as a human being can love and esteem 

 any animal." 



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