Page:EB1911 - Volume 16.djvu/760

Rh unfrequently nearly black. The mane begins to grow when the animal is about three years old, and is fully developed at five or six.

In size the lion is only equalled or exceeded by the tiger among existing Felidae; and though both species present great variations, the largest specimens of the latter appear to surpass the largest lions. A full-sized South African lion, according to Selous, measures slightly less than 10 ft. from nose to tip of tail, following the curves of the body. Sir Cornwallis Harris gives 10 ft. 6 in., of which the tail occupies 3 ft. The lioness is about a foot less.

—Front View of Skull of Lion.

The internal structure of the lion, except in slight details, resembles that of other Felidae, the whole organization being that of an animal adapted for an active, predaceous existence. The teeth especially exemplify the carnivorous type in its highest condition of development. The most important function they have to perform, that of seizing and holding firmly animals of considerable size and strength, violently struggling for life, is provided for by the great, sharp-pointed and sharp-edged canines, placed wide apart at the angles of the mouth, the incisors between them being greatly reduced in size and kept back nearly to the same level, so as not to interfere with their action. The jaws are short and strong, and the width of the zygomatic arches, and great development of the bony ridges on the skull, give ample space for the attachment of the powerful muscles by which they are closed. In the cheek-teeth the sectorial or scissor-like cutting function is developed at the expense of the tubercular or grinding, there being only one rudimentary tooth of the latter form in the upper jaw, and none in the lower. They are, however, sufficiently strong to break bones of large size. The tongue is long and flat, and remarkable for the development of the papillae of the anterior part of the dorsal surface, which (except near the edge) are modified so as to resemble long, compressed, recurved, horny spines or claws, which, near the middle line, attain the length of one-fifth of an inch. They give the part of the tongue on which they occur the appearance and feel of a coarse rasp. The feet are furnished with round soft pads or cushions covered with thick, naked skin, one on the under surface of each of the principal toes, and one larger one of trilobed form, behind these, under the lower ends of the metacarpal and metatarsal bones, which are placed nearly vertically in ordinary progression. The claws are large, strongly compressed, sharp, and exhibit the retractile condition in the highest degree, being drawn backwards and upwards into a sheath by the action of an elastic ligament so long as the foot is in a state of repose, but exerted by muscular action when the animal strikes its prey.

The lion lives chiefly in sandy plains and rocky places interspersed with dense thorn-thickets, or frequents the low bushes and tall rank grass and reeds that grow along the sides of streams and near the springs where it lies in wait for the larger herbivorous animals on which it feeds. Although occasionally seen abroad during the day, especially in wild and desolate regions, where it is subject to little molestation, the night is, as in the case of so many other predaceous animals, the period of its greatest activity. It is then that its characteristic roar is chiefly heard, as thus graphically described by Gordon-Cumming:—

“One of the most striking things connected with the lion is his voice, which is extremely grand and peculiarly striking. It consists at times of a low deep moaning, repeated five or six times,

ending in faintly audible sighs; at other times he startles the forest with loud, deep-toned, solemn roars, repeated in quick succession, each increasing in loudness to the third or fourth, when his voice dies away in five or six low muffled sounds very much resembling distant thunder. At times, and not unfrequently, a troop may be heard, roaring in concert, one assuming the lead, and two, three or four more regularly taking up their parts, like persons singing a catch. Like our Scottish stags at the rutting season, they roar loudest in cold frosty nights; but on no occasions are their voices to be heard in such perfection, or so intensely powerful, as when two or three troops of strange lions approach a fountain to drink at the same time. When this occurs, 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. The power and grandeur of these nocturnal concerts is inconceivably striking and pleasing to the hunter’s ear.”

“The usual pace of a lion,” C. J. Andersson says, “is a walk, and, though apparently rather slow, yet, from the great length of his body, he is able to get over a good deal of ground in a short time. Occasionally he trots, when his speed is not inconsiderable. His gallop—or rather succession of bounds—is, for a short distance, very fast—nearly or quite equal to that of a horse.”

“The lion, as with other members of the feline family,” the same writer says, “seldom attacks his prey openly, unless compelled by extreme hunger. For the most part he steals upon it in the manner of a cat, or ambushes himself near to the water or a pathway frequented by game. At such times he lies crouched upon his belly in a thicket until the animal approaches sufficiently near, when, with one prodigious bound, he pounces upon it. In most cases he is successful, but should his intended victim escape, as at times happens, from his having miscalculated the distance, he may make a second or even a third bound, which, however, usually prove fruitless, or he returns disconcerted to his hiding-place, there to wait for another opportunity.” His food consists of all the larger herbivorous animals of the country in which he resides—buffaloes, antelopes, zebras, giraffes or even young elephants or rhinoceroses. In cultivated districts cattle, sheep, and even human inhabitants are never safe from his nocturnal ravages. He appears, however, as a general rule, only to kill when hungry or attacked, and not for the mere pleasure of killing, as with some other carnivorous animals. He, moreover, by no means limits himself to animals of his own killing, but, according to Selous, often prefers eating game that has been killed by man, even when not very fresh, to taking the trouble to catch an animal himself.

The lion appears to be monogamous, a single male and female continuing attached to each other irrespectively of the pairing season. At all events the lion remains with the lioness while the cubs are young and helpless, and assists in providing her and them with food, and in educating them in the art of providing for themselves. The number of cubs at a birth is from two to four, usually three. They are said to remain with their parents till they are about three years old.

Though not strictly gregarious, lions appear to be sociable towards their own species, and often are found in small troops sometimes consisting of a pair of old ones with their nearly full-grown cubs, but occasionally of adults of the same sex; and there seems to be evidence that several lions will associate for the purpose of hunting upon a preconcerted plan. Their natural ferocity and powerful armature are sometimes turned upon one another; combats, often mortal, occur among male lions under the influence of jealousy; and Andersson relates an instance of a quarrel between a hungry lion and lioness over the carcase of an antelope which they had just killed, and which did not seem sufficient for the appetite of both, ending in the lion not only killing, but devouring his mate. Old lions, whose teeth have become injured with constant wear, become “man-eaters,” finding their easiest means of obtaining a subsistence in lurking in the neighbourhood of villages, and dashing into the tents at night and carrying off one of the sleeping inmates. Lions never climb.

With regard to the character of the lion, those who have had