THE STORY OF THE LION. 
75 
camel for several minutes without attempting to break its neck. I have seen 
a horse, a young elephant and two: antelopes killed by a bite in the throat; 
while I have also known instances of horses and zebras being killed by a bite 
on the back of the neck behind the head. Buffaloes are sometimes killed by 
a dislocation of the neck, which is effected by the lion springing onto their 
shoulders, and then seizing their noses with one paw, giving the neck a sudden 
wrench. 
It was formerly a prevalent notion that lions were in the habit of carrying 
A PLAYFUL OLD LION. 
off the carcasses of large animals, like oxen and buffaloes, by throwing them 
over their back and walking bodily away with them. All recent observers 
are, however, agreed that this is by no means a correct statement, and that 
their invariable practice is to transport such carcasses by dragging them along 
the ground. A South African lion would be quite incapable of lifting a 
buffalo from the ground, much less of leaping over a fence with it, as the 
lion of North Africa has been alleged to do. In referring to an instance of 
