Lion, Leo. A quadrupedal animal so strong and brave, that we call it the king of the animals. It has a large head, an elongated muzzle, and a face surrounded by very long hair. The neck, the withers and the shoulders, etc. are also covered by long hair that forms a beautiful mane on the front portion of the body, whereas it only has short and close cropped hair on the rest of the body except for the tail that ends with a tuft of long hairs. The lioness does not have a mane. Its muzzle is even longer than that of the lion and its claws are smaller. The color of the lion’s mane is a mix of brown scuffle and dark fawn. The short hair has shades of fawn, whitish and brown in some parts. The hair of a lioness is of lighter or darker shades of fawn color, shades of black and spots of that color are on the edge of the lower lip near the corner of the mouth and of the eyelids, as well as in place of eyebrows and on the backside of the ears and around the tail.

There are lions in Africa, in Asia, and in America. However, the ones from Africa are the largest and most ferocious, yet it is noticeable that the lions of the Atlas Mountains cannot compare to the ones of Senegal and of Gambra in boldness or size. Lions like countries with a warm climate and are sensitive to the cold. These animals urinate backwards, but they do not mate backwards, as it has been said. The lioness bears four lion cubs and sometimes more. They are easy to tame. Some become as soft and cuddly as dogs, but it is necessary to be wary of their natural ferocity. That the crowing of a rooster terrifies the lion is untrue, but fire does frighten it, and is lit to scare a lion off. The ordinary gait of this animal is slow and ponderous. When it pursues its prey, it runs at great speed. It is bold and fearless: it will attack any opponent regardless of their number if hunger presses it on. Resistance increases its fury, but if it is not hungry, it does not attack. If those it encounters turn away and lie down quietly, the lion continues its path as if it has not seen anyone. It is claimed that this animal only drinks once every three or four days, but that it drinks much at a time. Natural History of animals by MM. de Nobleville and Salerne, Volume V.