THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
They then killed every single one of the fifty-one ostriches, the meat of the 
greater part of which they left untouched. Before daylight five of the lions 
made their way out of the enclosure at the place where they had broken 
into it. But the sixth, a large male, was still inside feeding on one of the 
ostriches, when the owners of the flock, who had been apprised of what 
had taken place by some of the native boys, as soon as it was light, appeared 
upon the scene. The gorged animal was then so flurried that it could not 
immediately find the place through which it had broken into the enclosure, 
and was killed in the midst of the slain ostriches. The remaining five lions 
returned again that night for another feast of ostrich meat, and two more 
of them were shot by the owners of what had so lately been a promising 
ostrich farm. The remaining three lions were also subsequently killed by 
a party of sportsmen shooting in the neighbourhood. About the same 
time thirty ostriches were killed in one night on an adjoining farm. I did 
not hear the particulars of this case, but a party of lions again broke into 
a very strongly fenced enclosure in which there were thirty ostriches, 
every one of which was killed. 
The fact that the lions which attacked these ostriches in both instances 
made their way in along the ground by pulling up the barbed wire is very 
characteristic of these animals, which, in my own experience, always 
prefer to force their way under a fence, even if it is made of thick thorn 
bush and is quite low, rather than spring over it. If, however, after having 
entered an enclosure in this way, and perhaps killed an ox or a horse 
inside, they should be suddenly fired at or otherwise disturbed, they will 
then readily leap over the fence in their hurry to escape. Although the 
weight of a full-grown lion is not much greater than that of two heavy 
men, the muscular strength that a lion can exert is probably equal to that 
of several men combined. A single lion will break the neck of the largest 
ox or of a buffalo cow with the greatest ease. This is done by seizing the 
animal by the nose with the claws of one front paw, and either breaking 
its neck with one mighty wrench or causing it to break its own neck by 
falling forwards with its head pulled in under its chest. Whether a single 
lion can kill a full-grown buffalo bull in this way I do not know. I have on 
several occasions come on the carcasses of buffalo bulls freshly killed by 
lions, and have also shot many buffalo bulls which had escaped from 
lions after having been badly mauled by them, but in all these cases several 
lions might have combined in the attack. When a single lion kills an ox 
or other animal he does so very quickly and cleanly by breaking its neck, 
200 
