The Lion 123 



It is disappointing to find a man whom Lloyd calls " the 

 well-informed Andersson," saying that " the length of a 

 South African adult lion, from the nose to the extremity 

 of the tail, is from eleven to twelve feet, . . . and his 

 weight not less than from five to six hundred pounds." 

 He knew all about the stretching of pegged-out skins, he 

 had never seen a lion eleven feet long in his life, and yet 

 he adds two feet, or at least eighteen inches, to the ani- 

 mal's average length, and a hundred pounds to its weight. 

 Nine feet and a half is the average length of a well-known 

 Indian tiger, which is certainly a larger animal than the 

 lion, and both may occasionally reach a length of ten 

 feet, but very rarely. Sometimes, also, lions weigh as 

 much as five hundred pounds, although few persons 

 have met with specimens so heavy ; but beyond these 

 measurements and weights, nothing is on record that 

 deserves serious consideration. There is a perfect fog 

 of contradictions about the animal's strength, leaping 

 power, and his manner of carrying off prey ; so that as 

 far as testimony in these matters goes, no one can arrive 

 at any conclusion. A lion stands about thirty-six inches 

 high at the shoulder, and, of course, exceptional individ- 

 uals may be taller. He can no more go straight with his 

 head twisted over his shoulder than a man could ; there- 

 fore, taking into consideration the length of his neck, 

 those stories told about the manner in which lions bear off 

 large animals in their mouths, and gallop away with oxen 

 flung across their backs, have the disadvantage of being 

 impossible. Thunberg asserts that one of these beasts 

 will "attack an ox of the largest size, and very nimbly 



