616 



AFRICA. 



Ills prey, this roar is heightened into a scream. The mode of his attack is generally by sur- 

 prise. Approaching slowly and silently till within a leap of his prey, the lion springs with a 



force which is generally 

 thought to deprive its 

 victim of life. liis 

 muscular strength is 

 such, that he is capable 

 of carrying ofi' a horse 

 or a buffalo, and by 

 the power of his limbs 

 alone, he is said to be 

 able to break the spine 

 of a horse. Fortunate- 

 ly, however, the lion 

 seems to deiive no 

 gratification from the 

 destruction of animal 

 life, beyond the mere 

 cravings of appetite. In 

 confinement, he shows 

 unequivocal marks of 

 gratitude and affection 

 to the person who 

 serves him with food ; 

 of this, several in- 

 stances are on record. 



Of the Cape Lion (L. Melaceps) there are two varieties, which, fiom the tint of their 

 coats, and particularly of their manes, are designated by the settlers as the Pale and the Black 

 Mained Lion. The latter of these is the larger and more ferocious of the two, and occasion- 

 ally is found 'of the enormous length of eight 

 feet from the tip of the nose to the origin of 

 the tail. The tail is usually about half the 

 length of the body. The pale variety is the 

 more common. 



The Jackal (Canis aureus) inhabits the 

 southern parts of Africa. Its voice is like 

 that of the wolf, but it is more voracious. It 

 never stirs alone, but always hunts its prey in 

 packs of thirty or forty by night. It attacks 

 almost every kind of beast or bird, and^often 

 feeds on the carcasses of men and animals. 



The Fennec (C. Zerba^ is a curious ani- 

 mal, first made known to naturalists by Bruce ; 



TTie Jackal. 



The Jlfrican Lion. 



The Fennec. 



The Ichneumon. 



