There Is, It Must Be Admitted,
Considerable Difference Between The Singing Noise Of A Lion When Full,
And His Deep, Gruff Growl When Hungry.
In general the lion's voice
seems to come deeper from the chest than that of the ostrich,
but to this day I can distinguish between them with certainty
only by knowing that the ostrich roars by day and the lion by night.
The African lion is of a tawny color, like that of some mastiffs.
The mane in the male is large, and gives the idea of great power.
In some lions the ends of the hair of the mane are black;
these go by the name of black-maned lions, though as a whole
all look of the yellow tawny color. At the time of the discovery of the lake,
Messrs. Oswell and Wilson shot two specimens of another variety.
One was an old lion, whose teeth were mere stumps, and his claws worn
quite blunt; the other was full grown, in the prime of life,
with white, perfect teeth; both were entirely destitute of mane.
The lions in the country near the lake give tongue less than those
further south. We scarcely ever heard them roar at all.
The lion has other checks on inordinate increase besides man.
He seldom attacks full-grown animals; but frequently, when a buffalo calf
is caught by him, the cow rushes to the rescue, and a toss from her
often kills him. One we found was killed thus; and on the Leeambye another,
which died near Sesheke, had all the appearance of having received
his death-blow from a buffalo. It is questionable if a single lion
ever attacks a full-grown buffalo. The amount of roaring heard at night,
on occasions when a buffalo is killed, seems to indicate there are always
more than one lion engaged in the onslaught.
On the plain, south of Sebituane's ford, a herd of buffaloes
kept a number of lions from their young by the males turning their heads
to the enemy. The young and the cows were in the rear. One toss from a bull
would kill the strongest lion that ever breathed. I have been informed
that in one part of India even the tame buffaloes feel their superiority
to some wild animals, for they have been seen to chase a tiger up the hills,
bellowing as if they enjoyed the sport. Lions never go near any elephants
except the calves, which, when young, are sometimes torn by them;
every living thing retires before the lordly elephant, yet a full-grown one
would be an easier prey than the rhinoceros; the lion rushes off
at the mere sight of this latter beast.
In the country adjacent to Mashue great numbers of different
kinds of mice exist. The ground is often so undermined with their burrows
that the foot sinks in at every step. Little haycocks, about two feet high,
and rather more than that in breadth, are made by one variety
of these little creatures.
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