136 THE BOOK OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 



At last he came within twelve feet of the camera, and a flashlight 

 photo was then taken. 



"No one," says Mr. Dugmore, "who has not gone through the 

 experience can imagine what is the sensation of being at such very- 

 close quarters with so powerful and determined a creature as a, Lion. 

 It would be exciting enough in the day, but in the awe-inspiring 

 darkness of night it is even worse, as one knows that for the Lion 

 there is no night, his eyes being as good then as in the clear 

 sunshine." 



La Fontaine in his Fables gives an amusing account of a Lion 

 and the hunting Ass to which attention may be directed. 



One day the King of Beasts took it into his head to go a-hunting. 

 Now, when the Lion goes a-hunting he does not look for Sparrows, 

 but for fine Boars and handsome Stags. In order to have a good 

 day's sport he called to his aid the Ass of the stentorian voice. King 

 Lion's Ass took his office seriously. He was placed somewhere in 

 ambush and ordered to bray his best, for the King was sure that at 

 the sound even the least timid would fly to their lairs. And this 

 indeed did happen. The beasts, unaccustomed to the tempestuous 

 voice of the Ass, were seized with terror at the awful noise, and fled 

 in wild confusion, inevitably falling a prey to the Lion. 



" Have I not served thee well ? " the Ass, with a great show of 

 self-satisfaction, inquired of the Lion. "Yes," replied the Lion, 

 "thou hast made a brave noise. If I did not know thy manner 

 and thy kith and kin, I myself should have been scared." 



The Lion inhabits the whole of Africa as well as a good portion 

 of Western and Southern Asia. We learn that ages ago it existed in 

 Palestine and Greece. It stands some three and a quarter feet high 

 at the shoulders, and is of splendid proportions and stately bearing. 

 The powerful head, broad chest, slender body and the strength 

 of the paws and teeth are salient characteristics worthy of note. 

 Thick, short hair from a light-yellow to dark-brown in colour clothes 

 the body, and it is said that in native wilds this colour assimilates 

 to the environment frequented. The male bears a dark-coloured 

 mane which hangs over the breast and shoulders, and the tail has a 

 tuft of hair at the tip. This mane is well exemplified in Fig. 105, 

 whilst in the next illustration (Fig. 106) a Lion cub is shown. For 

 some considerable time after birth, cubs produced in captivity are 

 tame and docile. Sometimes they are fed with a bottle during 

 infancy, but in time it becomes necessary to dispense with them as 



