Well, let me take that, dear fellow. The villainy. I think I have a better face for it than you do.

[ He stretches and steps back, then nods satisfaction. Then he turns to the log Prior is sitting on and lays out two guns: one a normal, familiar pistol, pulled from his belt, and the other a sleek futuristic oddity from a discreet shoulder-holster under his coat. ]

And bears are a possibility, though lions would surprise me rather a lot. I'm certainly not an expert on old-earth xenobiology, but isn't the lion a creature of the open plains?