The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-09-11
LIFE HISTORY OF AFRICAN LION.
Domestic Economy of the Animal De.
scribed by Roosevelt.


That the lion is to the hunter the
| most dangerous of animals is the the
sis of Col. Roosevelt in his elucida-
ton of The Life History of the Afri-
can Lion," in the current issue of
Scribner's Magazine, says the Phila-
delphia Ledger. A man alone is never
safe in a lion-infested region on a
dark night. Two man-eating lions
for time halted the building of the
Uganda Railway by their depreda-
tions among the ranks of the labor
ers; another jumped into the division
superintendent's car and made on
with him; other lions closed the ma
tive routes of travel in the land of
the Nasal west of Mt. kenia several
years ago. A white traveller mauled
by ion had his wounds dressed and
was laid unmatched upon the cot in
his tent; the lion returned for him
and killed him. The charging lion
runs in on all fours, like dog,
knocks the man down as it seizes
him, and then lies on him, using the
claws to hold him and doing the kill
ing with the great fangs." George
Grey, brother of Sir Edward Grey,
lost his life because familiarity had
bred contempt, and, brave as he was,
he had forgotten how dangerous a
lion can be.
The lion will attack any animal ex-
cept the full-grown elephant, the
rhinoceros and the hippopotamus,
and the pangs of hunger may lead
him to do battle with even these
formidable antagonists. eff the lion
can bound on his victim, fixing the
claws of one fore paw on it's face or
muzzle, while the other holds it by
the shoulder and the great fangs tear
at the neck, feeling for the bone, he
is very apt to win
The domestic life of the African
lion does not appear to be ordered
after one invariable pattern. Lions
are sometimes homogeneous and
sometimes polygamous, and there
is much variety in the way they con-
duct their family life" Frequently a
sour-tempered old bachelor is found
by himself, and sometimes two adult
males will go into partnership, as in
the case of the lions that hindered
the railway builders.
"A lion and a lioness are often
found together, and in such case a
strong attachment may be shown be-
tween them and the union be appar-
emily permanent; at least this would
seem to be the case from the fact
that such pairs will often remain to-
gether just before the birth of the
cubs, and while the latter are very
little, the lion lying up during the
udN Ill IllS uClSllDOl lloOu VI lI1o 4llo IC
and her litter. But it is frequent
thing to find party of lions consist
ing of one old male, of two or three
or four females, and of the cubs of
some of the latter, and these parties
are we'll known to the Wakambo and
'Ndorobo hunters, and their associa-
tion is permanent, so that these cases
evidently afford instances of poly
gamy. Two or three lionesses some
times live in companionship, with
perhaps the cubs of one or more of
them, and a single lioness may be
found either by herself or with the
cubs of one litter, or of two litters.
On one occasion l found lioness
associating with young male, not
yet Quite fully grown, but already
much bigger than she was, and a
couple of young cubs, perhaps two or
three months old; now, from infor-
nation given me by the natives,
am inclined to think (although, of
course, l am not certain) that the
young male was one of her cubs of a
former litter, and the father of the
cubs that we're with them. Finally,
it may happen that lions join tenn
porarily in larger parties, which may
contain two or three adult males,
several females and young animals
of various ages, but an inclined to
believe that these associations are
shortlived, being due to peculiar con-
ditions, such as great local abundance
of game-for lions often hunt to-
gether in order to profit by mutual
support"