ougar is another animal. He creeps like
a snake, is as sure on the scent as a vulture, makes no more noise than
a shadow, and he hides behind a stone or bush that would scarcely
conceal a rabbit. Then he springs with terrific force, and intensity of
purpose, and seldom fails to reach his victim, and once the claws of a
starved lion touch flesh, they never let go.

A cougar seldom pursues his quarry after he has leaped and missed,
either from disgust or failure, or knowledge that a second attempt
would be futile. The animal making the easiest prey for the cougar is
the elk. About every other elk attacked falls a victim. Deer are more
fortunate, the ratio being one dead to five leaped at. The antelope,
living on the lowlands or upland meadows, escapes nine times out of
ten; and the mountain sheep, or bighorn, seldom falls to the onslaught
of his enemy.

Once the lion gets a hold with the great forepaw, every movement of the
struggling prey sinks the sharp, hooked claws deeper. Then as quickly
as is possible, the lion fastens his teeth in the throat of his prey
and grips till it is dead. In this way elk have carried lions for many
rods. The lion seldom tears the skin of the neck, and never, as is
generally supposed, sucks the blood of its victim; but he cuts into the
side, just behind the foreshoulder, and eats the liver first. He rolls
the skin back as neatly and tightly as a person could do it. When he
has gorged himself, he drags the carcass into a ravine or dense
thicket, and rakes leaves, sticks or dirt over it to hide it from other
animals. Usually he returns to his cache on the second night, and after
that the frequency of his visits depends on the supply of fresh prey.
In remote regions, unfrequented by man, the lion will guard his cache
from coyote and buzzards.

In sex there are about five female lions to one male. This is caused by
the jealous and vicious disposition of the male. It is a fact that the
old Toms kill every young lion they can catch. Both male and female of
the litter suffer alike until after weaning time, and then only the
males. In this matter wise animal logic is displayed by the Toms. The
domestic cat, to some extent, possesses the same trait. If the litter
is destroyed, the mating time is sure to come about regardless of the
season. Thus this savage trait of the lions prevents overproduction,
and breeds a hardy and intrepid race. If by chance or that cardinal
feature of animal life--the sur