LIONS AND BUFFALOES. g] 



that they can detect a variation between the commeuce* 

 ment of the noise of each. There is, it must be admitted, 

 considerable difference between the singing noise of a lion 

 when full, and his deep, gruff growl when hungry. In 

 general the lion's voice seems to come deeper from the 

 chest than that of the ostrich; but to this day I can dis- 

 tinguish between them with certainty only by knowing 

 that the ostrich roars by day and the lion by night. 



The African lion is of a tawny color, like that of some 

 mastiffs. The mane in the male is large, and gives the 

 idea of great power. In some lions the ends of the hair 

 of the mane are black; these go by the name of black- 

 maned lions, though as a whole all look of the yellow 

 tawny color. At the time of the discovery of the lake, 

 Messrs. Oswell and "Wilson shot two specimens of another 

 variety. One was an old lion, whose teeth were mere 

 stumps, and his claws worn quite blunt; the other was 

 full grown, in the prime of life, with white, perfect teeth : 

 both were entirely destitute of mane. The lions in the 

 country near the lake give tongue less than those farther 

 south. We scarcely ever heard them roar at all. 



The lion has other checks on inordinate increase besides 

 man. He seldom attacks full-grown animals; but fre- 

 quently, when a buffalo-calf is caught by him, the cow 

 rushes to the rescue, and a toss from her often kills, him. 

 One we found was killed thus ; and on the Leeambye an- 

 other, which died near Sesheke, had all the appearance of 

 having received his death-blow from a buffalo. It is ques- 

 tionable if a single Hon ever attacks a full-grown buffalo. 

 The amount of roaring heard at night, on occasions when 

 a buffalo is killed, seems to indicate there are always more 

 than one lion engaged in the onslaught. 



On the plain, south of Sebituane's ford, a herd of buffa- 

 loes kept a number of lions from their young by the males 

 turning their heads to the enemy. The young and the 

 cows were in the rear. One toss from a bull would kill 

 the strongest lion that ever breathed I have been in« 



