for his expeditions to Sesheke and along the Zambesi.
I found Mr. Blockley at the depôt. I also learnt that one of the waggons belonged to Mr. Anderson, who was very pleased to see me again. Noticing at once the great height of the fences round the enclosures, I was informed that the precaution was indispensable, because “lions ran about like dogs,” the roads everywhere being covered with their tracks.
I am inclined to divide the South African lions into three species; first, the common full-maned lion that is found in Barbary; secondly, the maneless lion; and thirdly, the kind called “krachtmanetye” by the Dutch, distinguished by its short light hair, and by a mane that never reaches below the shoulder. I do not consider the “bondpoote” of the Dutch to be a distinct species, inasmuch as its dark spots are a characteristic of the full-maned lion, and disappear as it advances in age.
The full-maned lions of the northern part of the continent are very rarely to be seen in South Africa. The maneless lions used to be common on the Molapo, and are still to be found in the valley of the central Zambesi and on the lower Chobe, their colour being extremely light; but the most common are those of the short-maned species. They haunt the valley of the Limpopo from the mouth of the Notuany downwards, to the exclusion for the most part of every other kind. It is said that they are especially dangerous between the ages of two and four years.
Ordinarily the South African lion is a most cautious beast. It might almost be supposed that he calculates the chances of every conflict, very rarely
