THE LION 
monogamous, whilst others habitually live with two, three, or even four 
females. Sometimes two, or even three, full-grown male lions live and 
hunt together. When a lion lives with two or more lionesses, these will 
often be accompanied by cubs of different ages. These cubs, I incline to 
believe — and there is good evidence in support of the view — remain with 
their parents until they are over two, possibly quite three, years old. 
The young females then stand as high at the shoulders as their mothers, 
though still much more slightly built, and the young males already show 
incipient manes. After a time the young males are no doubt driven off by 
their fathers, whilst some of the females are captured by other lions, or 
possibly driven off to fend for themselves by their mothers. In countries 
where game is excessively numerous more than twenty lions will 
sometimes collect together. Mr F. J. Jackson, C.B.,* has recorded the 
fact that on August 7, 1890, he and Dr Mackinnon saw a troop of no less 
than twenty -three lions near Machakos, in British East Africa. This 
great gathering of lions, Mr Jackson tells us, consisted of three males 
with large dark manes, five or six lionesses and the rest immature 
animals and cubs. I cannot help thinking that so large a party of lions, 
in which there were three full-grown males, must have been made up of 
three separate families, which usually hunted apart, but which for some 
reason or other had fraternized temporarily; for surely the passions of 
love and jealousy would have prevented a continuous friendship amongst 
the males of the party in the presence of the females. 
In a wild state a lioness usually gives birth to three cubs, though 
sometimes as many as four are born, and sometimes only two. Many of 
these cubs — possibly the majority — die when still quite young — probably 
in teething. This mortality amongst young lions no doubt acts as a check 
on the inordinate increase of the species, which is further kept within 
bounds by the fact that lionesses in a wild state only appear to breed at 
considerable intervals. At any rate, although lion cubs live with their 
mothers until they are at least two years old, I have never heard of a wild 
lioness having been met with accompanied by small cubs as well as 
half-grown ones. This is very remarkable in view of the fact that in a 
menagerie in England a lioness has been known to give birth to two litters 
of cubs in one year. 
Although lions sometimes hunt and kill their prey in the daytime, they 
are as a rule very nocturnal in their habits, resting and sleeping by day, 
‘Now Sir Frederick J. Jackson, K.C.B. 
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