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
In March 1892, whilst examining the country between Manica and the East
coast, in company with Mr. Jesser Coope, with a view to laying out a
new waggon road between Umtali township and the railway terminus, we
came suddenly upon the remains of a buffalo which had been killed only
a few hours previously by a number of lions. These animals must have
heard us approaching, and only retreated into the long grass just as
we rode up, and as the whole country was covered with grass eight feet
high all pursuit was hopeless. Judging by the number of distinct ‘lay
places’ round the carcase of the buffalo, which were ten in number,
there must either have been ten lions, or five, each of which had lain
down in two different places. The latter number, I think, is the true
estimate, and the party probably consisted of an old lion and four
lionesses, as there were no cub spoors. The carcase of the buffalo,
from which almost all the meat had been eaten, had been disembowelled
in the usual neat and cleanly manner, and at a distance of some ten
yards off it stood two mounds, apparently of earth and grass. I pointed
these out to my young friend, and said, ‘The lions have buried the
paunch and entrails of the buffalo beneath those mounds.’ This work had
been done most effectually, a space of several yards square having been
cleared of grass, all of which, together with a great deal of earth,
had been piled up on the two mounds. Wishing to sit up that night and
watch over the carcase, we did not at the moment disturb the earth
and grass-covered heaps or do anything which might have aroused the
suspicions of the lions, but rode back to our waggon, and returning
at once with some Kafirs built a shelter at the foot of a tree, a few
yards from the carcase of the buffalo, in which Mr. Jesser Coope and
myself took up our positions for the night, the Kafirs returning to the
waggon. However, strange to say, the lions never put in an appearance,
and so our watch was in vain and we neither saw nor heard anything more
of them. On the following morning I commenced to turn over the heaps in
which I thought the paunch and entrails were hidden, in order to get
some of the large horned dung beetles which are common in this part of
Africa, and I very soon found to my surprise that, though the vegetable
contents of the paunch and entrails had been hidden from view, there
was no animal matter there whatever, so that I cannot but conclude
that in this instance, at any rate, the lions had eaten all the animal
portions of the paunch and entrails of a recently killed animal.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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