46 



THE WORLD OF ANIMAL LIFE 



Claw of the Lion 



shall have a very good idea of the way in which the lion's body is 

 formed. 



In the first place, the lion has claws of just the same kind, only 

 they are a great deal larger and stronger. The lion feeds upon 

 living animals, and requires some kind of weapons with which to 

 capture them ; and such weapons he has in his claws. 



As these claws must always be kept sharp, there is a sheath 



into which each 

 of them can be 

 drawn when it is 

 not being used. 

 In this way the 

 points are pre- 

 served from being 

 worn away by 

 rubbing against 

 the ground. A dog does not possess such sheaths, and so his 

 claws are always blunt. But no matter how much a lion or cat 

 may run about, the points of the claws never touch the ground. 



Then the lion must be able to creep quietly up to his prey, 

 so that he may leap upon it suddenly; for many of the animals 

 upon which a lion feeds are so much more swift of foot than 

 himself, that he could not possibly overtake them in fair chase. 



Underneath a lion's foot, therefore, there are soft fleshy pads, 



just like those which we may 

 notice on a cat's paw. You 

 know how silently a cat can 

 walk along, and how often 

 it is impossible to hear its 

 footstep. Although the lion 

 is a much larger and heavier 

 animal, he can move quite 

 as noiselessly, and can creep 

 up to his victims without 

 alarming them by the slightest sound. 



A lion has whiskers, too, like the cat, and they are used for just 

 the same purpose. 



^-^, 



Cat's Foot: a, with claws unsheathed; 

 b, showing cushions or pads 



