In Fact, Lacking Other Evidence, It Is
Occasionally Possible To Identify A Kill As Being That Of A Lion
By Noticing Whether Any Considerable Portion Of The Hide Has Been
Devoured.
After eating he drinks.
Then he is likely to do one of
two things: either he returns to cover near the carcass and lies
down, or he wanders slowly and with satisfaction toward his happy
home. In the latter case the hyenas, jackals, and carrion birds
seize their chance. The astute hunter can often diagnose the
case by the general actions and demeanour of these camp
followers. A half dozen sour and disgusted looking hyenas seated
on their haunches at scattered intervals, and treefuls of
mournfully humpbacked vultures sunk in sadness, indicate that the
lion has decided to save the rest of his zebra until to-morrow
and is not far away. On the other hand, a grand flapping,
snarling Kilkenny-fair of an aggregation swirling about one spot
in the grass means that the principal actor has gone home.
It is ordinarily useless to expect to see the lion actually on
his prey. The feeding is done before dawn, after which the lion
enjoys stretching out in the open until the sun is well up, and
then retiring to the nearest available cover. Still, at the risk
of seeming to be perpetually qualifying, I must instance finding
three lions actually on the stale carcass of a waterbuck at
eleven o'clock in the morning of a piping hot day!
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