3o0 MAMM.OjIA. 



providing the common subsistence. It is said that lie pushes 

 his gallantrjr so far as to refuse to eat first, and that he does 

 not ajjproach the prey captured by himself until the Lioness is 

 satisfied ; and, on the other hand, the latter defends him with 

 energetic fury if he be attacked. 



The Lioness goes with young; about one hundred and fifty days, 

 and brings forth from two to five cubs, which she tends and pro- 

 tects with remarkable solicitude. Her courage in defending them 

 has become proverbial. Evil be to those who attempt to disturb 

 or to deprive her of her cubs ! for they will feel the weight of 

 her wrath, unless they gain shelter or slay the furious mother. 



As the male has the unnatural habit of devouring his off- 

 spring when they come into the world, the Lioness wanders in 

 search of some inaccessible concealed spot in which to deposit 

 her progenjf. She is, moreover, careful to an extreme to make 

 all her tracks in the vicinity most intricate and confused. 



She suckles her cubs for six months, scarcely ever leaving them 

 except to quench her thirst, or procure nourishment. After 

 weaning them, she takes them out to hunt, when their ravages 

 are of incredible extent ; for they kill not only to feed, but 

 also to learn to strangle and tear their prey. The neigh- 

 bouring population know to their cost what the nature of this 

 education is. This state of things lasts until the cubs are 

 strong enough to find their own subsistence, when they are 

 driven ofi' bj' their parents. 



The size of a new-born cub is about that of a half- grown 

 Cat ; at a year old, it is equal in stalure to that of a Newfound- 

 land Dog. They do not walk before they are two months 

 old. The colour of the coat in the young difiers from that of 

 the adidt animal, in being yellow, and striped with small 

 brown bars, which markings do not completely disappear until 

 maturity of form is reached. The mane begins to grow on 

 the male when he is about three years of age. The average 

 duration of the Lion's life appears to be from thirty-five to 

 forty years. 



A fact to be noted in the habits of the Lion, particularly those 

 of North Africa, is that by reason of its carnivorous reo-ime, and 

 the activity of its appetite, it is generally obliged to live a 

 solitary existence, in a locality where it arrogates to itself the 



