One must not, however, judge of the animal from the specimens usually exhibited in menageries; for though these frequently equal in bulk those found
* Of which animals, as had previously informed his friend. "he on one occasion, when bringing to his bivouac a distance of about a mile the head of a koodoo shot on the preceeding day, encountered no fewer than twenty-two, and was necessitated to shoot three of them to clear the way."
THE LION.
in a wild state, yet being reared in confinement, and deprived of the milk of the mother of fresh air, so to say of liberty, &c., they too often acquire a sickly, emaciated, and melancholy look, which, coupled with the want of an ample mane, causes them to contrast very unfavourably with their fel- lows in a state of nature.
Harris, who had ample opportunities of making the acquaintance of the lion in his native wilds both in Africa and India, would seem, like myself, to have been greatly struck by the different ap- pearance the beast presents when in a state of freedom from that when a wretched prisoner. His words are:—
"Those who have seen the monarch of the forest in crippling captivity, immured in a cage barely double his own length, with his sinews relaxed by confinement, have seen but the shadow of the animal which 'clears the desert with his roving eye.' "
The lioness is a much less imposing-looking animal than the lion, being not only one-third smaller, but devoid of a mane. When roused, how- ever, either by rage or hunger, she has an even more ferocious aspect than her stately mate, whose countenance is often partially hidden by his flowing inane.
It is said that, as a general rule, the lioness is more fierce and active than the lion, and that such as have never had young are more dangerous than those that have had families.
The lion is possessed of a piercing sight, and his
ROAR OF THE LION.
hearing is very acute, but his sense of smell would not appear to be very nice. Indeed, to judge by Gerard's adventures with the beast, which, by his account, often approached to within a very few paces of him. without being at all aware of his pre- sence, it would not seem as if his olfactory nerves served him in any very great stead.
The roar of the lion perhaps one of the most remarkable characteristics, so to say, of the animal is fearful, and when heard in the night time, whether in the desert or the forest, impresses one with something like awe. It much resembles distant thunder. The Arabs of Northern Africa have, indeed, only a single word to express his voice, and that is Rad, or thunder.
When, however, people speak of the roar of the lion, it is to be presumed they have in their mind's eye the low, hollow, and half suppressed sigh, or groan, that one so often hears in menageries. The roar of the animal in its wild state is something very different, and is truly terrific and appalling. But it is seldom heard in all its intensity; indeed, a friend of mine, who frequently hunted the beast in Southern Africa, only remembers hearing it twice, and I, for my part, on not more than half-a-dozen occasions. The lion's roar, however, even under the mildest form, is most impressive and has not been inaptly likened to the efforts "to disgorge something from the throat."
The impression made on my own mind by the lion's roar would seem to have been in great measure shared by other travellers, who, as my-
THE LION.
self, have had ample opportunities of hearing it in the animal's native wilds.
"Each night," writes Delegorgue, "these grand carnivori disturbed by their roarings our sleep and the repose of the cattle, confined within a circular fence. There is something terrifying in this noise, the only one that troubles the night in these solitudes, something which obliges me to acknow- ledge the lion as the ' master ' in them."
"One of the most striking things connected with the lion," says Gordon Gumming, "is his voice, which is extremely grand and peculiarly striking. It consists at times of a low, deep moaning, re- peated five or six times, ending in faintly audible sighs; at other times, he startles the forest, with loud, deep toned, solemn roars, repeated five or six times in quick succession, each increasing in loud- uess 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 un- frequently, 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
ROAR OF THE LION.
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 effect I may remark, is greatly enhanced when the hearer happens to be situated in the depths of the forest, at the dead hour of midnight, unaccompanied by any attendant, and ensconced within twenty yards of the fountain which the surrounding troop of lions are approaching. Such has been my situation many scores of times; and though I am allowed to have a tolerably good taste for music, I consider the catches with which I was then regaled as the sweetest and most natural I ever heard."
"Elsewhere," Gordon Gumming observes, "as a general rule, lions roar during the night; their sighing moans commencing as the shades of even- ing envelop the forest, and continuing at intervals throughout the hours of darkness."
According to Gerard, who had more opportu- nities than most men of studying the roar of the lion, "It is composed of a dozen sounds, com- mencing with sighs which rise in volume as they proceed, and finish as they began with an interval between each."
"When a lion and a lioness are in company," Ge"rard further informs us, "the lioness is always the first to roar, and this at the moment of leaving the lair.
"The lion alternates with the lioness.
"In this manner they proceed on their way, roar- ing every quarter of an hour until they have ap-
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proached the Douar* which they propose despoiling, and when their appetites are satisfied they recom- mence roaring and continue until daylight.
"The lion, when alone, also roars on leaving his den, and it often happens that he continues doing so until he reaches the Douar.
"In the Summer, during the great heats, the lion roars less, and sometimes not at all; but in the pairing season he makes ample amends for lost time."
''When the lion roars" says General Dumas, "people pretend one rnay readily distinguish the following words:—'Ahna on ben el mera,' that is ' I and the son of the woman.' Moreover, that lie repeats twice 'ben el mera but 'Ahna' onty once, from which they conclude he dares not recognise any other creature than man besides himself."
The natives of parts of South Africa, it is to be remarked, assert they can readily distinguish be- tween the roar of a hungry lion, or one intent on mischief, and that of a lion whose appetite is al- ready appeased. When the beast is hungry, his roar, they say, is dull and stifled; but when, on the contrary, his belly is full, it is rather loud.
