32 THE WONDERS OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



tiger, and this very circumstance is entitled to the serious attention of the zoologist, as it goes a great 

 way to establish the strong affinity of the lion and the tiger, and may account for the apparent hete- 

 ros - eneousness in the breeding of the two animals. 



The first litter of the cubs was whelped on the 20th October, 1827, the day of the memorable 

 battle of Navarino ; and considering that the lion is the emblem of Britain, it is rather a singular 

 coincidence, that no lions had been whelped in the Tower since the year 1794, celebrated for the 

 glorious victory gained by Lord Howe over the French fleet ; on both of which occasions the lion 

 hearts of England proved their power to be irresistible. 



The young lions now in the Tower are allowed to be the finest that have ever been bred in this 

 country ; but the ultimate rearing of them is still attended with some risk, as the period has not yet 

 arrived when the shedding of the milk teeth takes place, which has hitherto proved almost always 

 fatal to the young lions which have been bred in this country, and also on the Continent. At 

 present the animals exhibit the highest state of health, although the scratches on their noses bear 

 ample proofs of their quarrelsome disposition ; and one of them appears to have been so particularly 

 selected for the rude attacks of its associates, that it has been deemed necessary to confine it in 

 a separate den. ... 



It was a gratifying sight, shortly after their birth, to watch the playfulness of the infant lions, 

 resembling in every respect the merry antics of the kitten, whilst their dam fondled over them, and 

 licked their fur with all the tenderness and affection of the domestic cat ; and so strongly does the 

 lioness appear to resemble that animal in her habits, that she carried her young ones about in her 

 mouth, seemingly anxious to conceal them from the gaze of the spectators. 



Previously to the lioness having young, she was one of the most gentle and docile animals in the 

 whole menagery, allowing the keepers to treat her with the utmost familiarity ; and her tameness was 

 so great, that she was permitted frequently to roam at pleasure in the court-yard, without exciting the 

 least fear in the hearts of the attendants : but no sooner did she become a mother, than a total change 

 took place in her dispositions, exhibiting, as it has been well expressed, " the truly beautiful but 

 appalling picture of maternal tenderness combined with savage ferocity, each in their utmost intensity 

 of force and colouring." The lioness appears to cherish her maternal feelings with an ardour almost 

 unparalleled in the history of any other animal. She watches over her young with that undefined 

 dread of danger to their weak and defenceless state, and that suspicious eagerness of alarm, which keep 

 her in a constant state of feverish excitation ; and woe be to the wretched intruder, whether man or 

 beast, who should unwarily, at such a time, approach the precincts of her sanctuary. Even in a state 

 of captivity, and however completely she may have been previously subjected to the controul of her 

 keeper, when a mother she loses all respect for his commands, and abandons herself occasionally to 

 the most violent paroxysms of rage. 



In the history of the Museum of Paris, we find that a lioness had there three litters; at the first 

 she produced nine, at the second three, and at the third two. When they were some months old, 

 they became very mischievous, and one, in particular, exhibited alarming signs of ferocity ; and 

 as in the case of the cubs at the Tower, there appears to exist a great difference in the temperament 

 of the animals, some seeming anxious to obtain the superiority and to lord it over the others, whilst 

 the others appear of a more submissive and gentle disposition. It is to be hoped that these native 

 lions will continue an ornament to their present abode, and be the counterpart of their parents in 

 beauty and in majesty. 



