THE LION AND OTHER BEASTS OF PREY 
217 
Lions generally lie in wait for their prey, concealed in the reeds 
near some place where other animals come to drink, and then, spring¬ 
ing from their lair, leap upon the victim, striking it down with the 
paws. The neck is usually broken with a violent wrench of the 
powerful jaws, and the carcass is carried off to be devoured at leisure. 
The lion does not disdain the flesh of animals killed by the hunter. 
Gordon Gumming frequently saw lions feeding on antelopes that had 
THE HUNTER’S ADVENTURE WITH A LION 
fallen by his rifle; and Stevens, who was sent by the New York 
Herald to find Stanley, saw three '‘bunched up inside the capacious 
carcass of a rhinoceros, and feeding off the foulest carrion imaginable.” 
When pressed by hunger the lion will approach a native village by 
night and carry off goats and calves, but fires and torches will scare 
him away. 
The lion has been called the king of beasts, and a good deal has 
