LION 
365 
extreme; in fact, I have never heard anything of a similar nature that can compare 
with it, for it is no exaggeration to say that the ground actually trembles with the 
volume of sound. I say this unhesitatingly, for all that many people would have 
us believe to the contrary, maintaining that there is nothing in it, and endeavouring 
to compare it to the ‘ booming ’ of the cock ostrich. At a great distance, and there¬ 
fore, when heard indistinctly, the low, sullen roaring of a single lion has certainly 
much resemblance to the sound emitted by the ostrich during the pairing-season; 
but persuade either the lion or the ostrich to come nearer, and one might then as 
well try to compare the rumbling of cart wheels over a wooden bridge with the 
incessant roll of thunder among mountains. But a lion makes other sounds far 
more disconcerting—because usually only heard at close quarters—than that to 
which it gives vent when, in company with others, it has killed a head of game, or 
is retiring to its lair, full fed. There is the constant low growling of the lion 
crouching in cover, uncertain whether to fight or to fly, as, with flattened ears and 
nervously twitching tail, he studies the situation, hoping by his attitude to warn 
off the disturber of his solitude. There is the angry snarl of the lion disturbed at 
his meals, when his appetite is not yet satisfied, and when one has come upon him 
so suddenly as to give him no time to clear off; and, worse than all, the short, 
coughing grunts which often accompany a charge, and which startle the intruder 
in his domains as he bounds away. All these sounds are by no means musical, and, 
whether heard by day or by night, are well calculated to try the nerves.” Similar 
testimony as to the impressiveness of the lion’s roar is given by Gordon Cumming, 
who describes it as consisting at certain times of five or six repetitions of a low, 
deep moaning, ending off with a faint and scarcely audible sigh, while at others it 
takes the form of loud, deep-toned, solemn roars, quickly repeated, and increasing 
in intensity till the third or fourth, after which it gradually dies away in a succes¬ 
sion of low muffled growlings, like the roll of distant thunder. Then, again, the 
veteran hunter, Sir Samuel Baker, gives his impressions in the following words: 
•—“ There is nothing so beautiful or enjoyable to my ears as the roar of a lion on a 
still night, when everything is calm, and no sound disturbs the solitude except the 
awe-inspiring notes, like the rumble of distant thunder, as they die away into the 
deepest bass. The first few notes somewhat resemble the bellow of a bull; these 
are repeated in slow succession four or five times, after which the voice is sunk into 
a lower key, and a number of quick short roars are at length followed by rapid 
coughing notes, so deep and powerful that they seem to vibrate through the earth.” 
This vibrating and reverberating sound alluded to in the last sentence is 
intensified by the habit lions often have of putting their mouths close to the ground 
while roaring; Livingstone mentioning an instance where a lion stood for hours 
roaring near his camp, and making the sound reverberate in this manner. 
The intensity and grandeur of the sound must, however, be largely increased 
when, as is not unfrequently the case, a party of lions are heard roaring in concert; 
and the din reaches its height when two or three troops of lions approach a 
watering-place at the same time. On such occasions, says Gordon Cumming, “ every 
member of each troop sounds a bold roar of defiance at the opposite parties; and 
when one roars, all roar together, and each seems to vie with his comrades in the 
intensity and power of his voice.” 
