32 THE LION. Chap. VII. 



habited places ; and from this circumstance has arisen the idea 

 that the lion, when he has once tasted human flesh, loves it 

 better than any other. A man-eater is invariably an old lion ; 

 and when he comes for goats, the people remark, " His teeth 

 are worn, he will soon kill men." They at once turn out to 

 destroy him. When living far away from the haunts of men, 

 or when he entertains a dread of the Bushmen andBakalahari, 

 lie begins, as soon as old age overtakes him, to catch mice and 

 other small rodents. He even eats grass, though this perhaps 

 lie does, like dogs, as medicine. The natives, observing 

 undigested vegetable matter in his droppings, follow up his 

 trail in the certainty of finding him under some tree scarcely 

 able to move. They then despatch him without difficulty. 



The fear of man often remains excessively strong in the 

 carnivora. The lioness, in the vicinity of towns where the 

 large game have been driven away by fire-arms, has been 

 known to assuage her hunger by devouring her young.* Yet 

 so many lions came about our half-deserted houses at Chonuane 

 while we were removing to Kolobeng, that the natives were 

 terrified to stir out-of-doors in the evenings. 



The African lion is somewhat larger than the biggest dog, and 

 the face, which is not much like the usual drawings, partakes 

 very strongly of the canine features. If he is encountered 

 in the daytime he turns slowdy round after first gazing a 

 second or two, walks as slowly away for a dozen paces looking 

 over his shoulder, quickens his step to a trot till he thinks 

 himself out of sight, and then bounds off like a greyhound. 

 As a rule, there is not the smallest danger of a lion which is 

 unmolested attacking man in the light. When the moon was 

 shining we seldom tied up our oxen, but let them lie loose by 

 the waggon, while on a dark rainy night, if there was a 

 single beast in the neighbourhood, he was almost sure to 

 attempt to kill one of our cattle. His approach is always 

 stealthy except when wounded. A lion however with whelps 

 will brave almost any danger. A person lias only to cross 

 where the wind blows from him to the animals, and both 

 mak* and female will rush at him. In one case a man was 



* Bitches have been known to eat their pups. This may arise from that same 

 craving foi animal food which is felt by man in these parts. 



