THE AFRICAN LION. 
Amid the far-off hills, 
With eye of fire, and shaggy mane upreared, 
The sleeping Lion in his den sprang up; 
Listened awhile — then laid his monstrous mouth 
Close to the floor, and breathed hot roarings out 
In fierce reply. — Edwin Atherstone. (1821) 
THE common opinion of the Lion 
from the remotest times is that 
he is King of Beasts, and a single 
glance at his face of majesty is 
sufficient to make us accept it. His 
roar is terrific, and the fact is well 
known that all animals tremble at the 
mere sound of his voice. The effect of 
it on his subjects is said to be indescrib- 
able. "The howling Hyena is stricken 
dumb, though not for long; the Leop- 
ard ceases to grunt; the Monkeys utter 
a loud, gurgling sound and mount to 
the highest tree-tops; the Antelopes 
rush through the bushes in a mad flight; 
a bleating flock becomes silent; the 
laden Camel trembles and listens no 
longer to his driver's appeal, but throws 
load and rider off and seeks salvation 
in flight; the Horse rears, snorts, and 
rushes back; the Dog, unused to the 
chase, creeps up to his master with a 
wail." But it is said we must not think 
that the Lion lets his roar re-echo 
through the wilderness at all times. 
His usual sounds are a deep growl and a 
long-drawn tone, like the mewing of a 
giant Cat. His real roar is uttered 
comparatively seldom, and many peo- 
ple who have visited countries inhab- 
ited by Lions have never heard it. It 
is the only one of its kind, and is sur- 
passed in fullness of tone by the voice 
of no living creature except the male 
Hippopotamus, according to Pechnel- 
Loesche. "The Arabs have a pertinent 
expression for it: 'raadl meaning thun- 
der. It seems to come from the very 
depth of the chest and to strain it to 
the utmost." 
This Lion is distributed all over Cen- 
tral and Southern Africa. They are 
regularly met with on the banks of the 
Blue and White Nile, and in the des- 
erts of central and Southern Africa they 
are of common occurrence. 
The Lion leads a solitary life, living 
with his mate only during the breeding 
season. Selous says that in South Af- 
rica one more frequently meets four or 
five Lions together than single speci- 
mens, and troops of ten or twelve are 
not extraordinary. His experience 
taught him that the South African Lion 
prefers feasting off the game some hun- 
ter has killed to exerting himself to 
capture his own prey. This is why 
he regularly follows nomadic tribes 
wherever they go; he regards them as 
his tributary subjects and the taxes he 
levies on them are indeed of the heav- 
iest kind. 
The Cubs are usually two or three 
and the Lioness treats them with great 
tenderness. They play together like 
Kittens. In well-managed zoological 
gardens Lions are now bred as care- 
fully as Dogs; and even in circuses, 
where the animals have but little room 
and often insufficient nourishment, they 
are born and sometimes grow up. The 
cubs are at first rather clumsy. They 
are born with their eyes open and are 
about half the size of a Cat. Towards 
the close of the first year they are about 
the size of a strong Dog. In the third 
year the mane begins to appear on the 
male, but full growth and distinction of 
sex, according to Brehm, are only com- 
pleted in the sixth or seventh year. 
Lions in captivity have lived to be sev- 
enty years old. 
Brehm, who loved the Lion and was 
probably better acquainted with his 
habits than any other traveler, says: 
"The most prominent naturalists give 
the Lion credit for qualities which in 
my opinion include nobility enough. 
And whoever has become more closely 
acquainted with that animal; whoever 
has, like myself, intimately known a 
captive Lion for years, must think as I 
do; he must love and esteem it as much 
as a human being can love and esteem 
any animal." 
