The explorer and missionary David Livingstone was identified after death by the appearances of his humerus which had been damaged in an encounter with a lion. In his writings Livingstone suggested that the consequences of the lion's attack were not as bad as he might have expected. He wondered if this was due to the fact that he was wearing a tartan jacket when he was attacked and suggested that this curious point should be investigated. This paper looks at some of the dyes used in tartans of the time and investigates their effect on the bacteria that might be present in the mouths of lions.