Big Game Shooting, volume 1 (of 2)Phillipps-Wolley, Clive
General
Big Game Shooting, volume 1 (of 2)
Phillipps-Wolley, Clive
Game and game-birds; Hunting
Lions when in the game country rarely go a night without something to
eat, and I venture to think that in most instances of attacks on camps
the reason is not so much their reputed natural boldness and daring,
but that they are driven to it by the pangs of hunger. But even the
cowardly skulking hyæna will enter a camp within the ring of fires
under such circumstances. Although there is, as a rule, plenty of game
in the districts in which lions are found, they no doubt, for reasons
stated above, occasionally and of necessity retire foodless and hungry.
This may also be accounted for by old age and inability to catch and
kill game. But whatever the cause of their hunger, they will always
make for the nearest water, not only to quench their thirst, but also
as being a likely place to find their prey; and in the event of a camp
being pitched close by, in which there may be cattle, donkeys, or
something equally attractive, they are prompted to attack it.
I only know of one instance of a camp being attacked at night by
a lion, and this was within my own experience. It occurred in the
waterless and also _gameless_ wilderness between Mount Kisigao and
Mitati in the Teita country, when on my way to Kilimanjaro. The night
before the attack the lion was seen close to camp by some porters who
were lying under a tree rather outside the ring of fires, and it was
evidently intent on a white donkey tied to a tree close by, which
belonged to a missionary who was travelling up with me for the sake
of protection. The donkey was therefore brought into the centre of
the camp, and the lion was only heard at intervals during the night
as it prowled around. The following night when we encamped without a
‘boma,’ the men being too tired to make one, we merely formed a circle
of fires, round which the members of each mess were for the most part
lying asleep. About midnight I was awakened by a tremendous commotion
with cries of ‘Simba! Simba!’ (lion!), and on rushing out of my tent to
investigate was told that a lion had attempted to carry off one of my
men. It appeared that this man was outside the ring of fires, when the
lion came up and grabbed him by the head as he was lying on his back
with his feet to the fire. Fortunately for him his head was enveloped
in several pieces of cloth, which he used during the day as a pad, to
protect his head when carrying a load. This cloth evidently slipped
and prevented the beast from getting a good grip of the man’s head,
and probably killing him on the spot. As it was, he received a nasty
gash just above the eyebrow, beginning at the temple and extending to
above the bridge of his nose, with another long gash across the top of
his head, corresponding to the large canine teeth, and other smaller
scratches between these two gashes. There were also cuts, though less
serious, on the other side of his head, which had been done by the
teeth of the lower jaw. Curious to say, the lion carried off the pieces
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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