Being a Dad in the Animal World
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Kenya's Maasai Mara grasslands are in the midst of the long rainy season. At times the weather becomes extremely harsh and the rainfall can submerge the entire plain, turning it into an endless expanse of water.
Fortunately, in recent years the rainfall has been relatively moderate and few disasters have occurred.
The current episode of the wildlife live documentary 'Animal Kingdom unfolds on the Maasai Mara grasslands. This time the crew has focused on a lioness with cubs, and they have named her 'Emma'.
Emma is a lioness who left her pride because she was unfaithful to her dominant male partner and was consequently driven out.
She struggles to survive on her own with her four cubs and has suffered severe injuries while hunting wildebeest.
Even after sustaining her injuries she cannot afford to stop hunting because her four cubs have gone several days without food and are on the brink of starvation.
Her eldest son 'Jason' has also accompanied her. 'Jason' is a two-and-a-half-year-old male lion.
He only enters the subadult stage after turning three, at which point the pride will force him out to fend for himself.
Although he has not yet reached that age, he still follows his mother and helps watch over the three younger cubs when she hunts.
Furthermore, Emma must strive to protect Jason until he reaches adulthood because he is her only hope.
Only when Jason matures and overcomes the other male lions to claim territory will the lives of both mother and son be secured.
At present, both Jason and the three cubs depend entirely on their mother for survival.
Unfortunately, after Emma failed to catch a wildebeest at noon that day, she lost a large amount of blood and exhausted her strength, leaving her utterly drained.
She cannot afford to collapse; if she does, both Jason and the other three cubs will be attacked and killed by other animals.
Straining with a body weakened by severe blood loss, she endeavors to secure a future for her four cubs before she dies.
Her only option is to target lionesses who have just given birth
By that time Jason will undoubtedly be abandoned, though that does not matter because he is already two and a half years old and capable of fending for himself.
In contrast, the other three cubs, being only a few months old, are not capable of surviving on their own.
To ensure her cubs have a chance to live, she must hunt relentlessly while leading them in evading other predators.
Survival has grown increasingly arduous; for an entire week she has failed to secure any prey, and her cubs are starving, their bodies reduced to skin and bones.
In a desperate bid to feed her cubs, she launches an attack on a herd of wildebeest even though prolonged hunger has greatly diminished her strength.
A sharp, pointed horn of a wildebeest pierced her neck.
Blood trickled along her fur, staining the withered, yellowed grass and trees red.
o0o
The viewership in the 'Animal Kingdom' outdoor live broadcast room is minimal; occasionally someone tunes in and, upon seeing that the subject of this shoot is once again doomed, they unleash a torrent of curses directed at the director and the filming crew before grumbling as they exit the live room.
"Fuck, which damn animal is unlucky enough to be tracked by this crew? What a tragedy"
"Qiuqiu, act like a human being. Stop filming and quit immediately. With every episode you film, someone dies. Were you not sent by the Grim Reaper?"
"The animals you film are truly miserable. Not a single group has survived; your filming inevitably leads to death."
"Garbage director, garbage camera crew, you do nothing to help. What use is your survival? You might as well die."
This live broadcast has been cursed ever since it began, and anyone filmed ends up dead.
This time is no exception. Lioness Emma will also die in the near future.
Animal Kingdom, dubbed "the worst live broadcast documentary ever", has once again trended on hot searches due to the wrath of passionate netizens.
Especially Bai Yi, the only domestic follow-camera photographer in the intern group; after filming Emma's 'death' he was subjected to a wave of online abuse by netizens.
In fact, the live broadcast footage included scenes of their heroic efforts to rescue animals; however, netizens selectively ignored these moments.
This round of online abuse was all-encompassing, sparing no one from the director team to the camera crew, with Bai Yi receiving the harshest criticism.
The death of lioness Emma incited the fury of netizens, and the director team finally acknowledged that the curse of "filming anyone leads to death" could not be broken; they resolved to stop filming.
At that moment, the live broadcast was halted by the relevant authorities and fined.
Bai Yi also packed up and left to return to his country, determined to heal the wounds of his spirit.
Unexpectedly, on the day of his return, the plane crashed.
Bai Yi's life ended in a foreign land.
o0o
The howling wind soaked his body, and the relentless patter of heavy rain echoed in his ears.
He could also faintly hear a few tiny cries from cubs.
Bai Yi, in a daze, opened his eyes and saw nothing but a withered yellow lawn ahead, with rainwater accumulating ever deeper among the grass.
His entire body was drenched, and he trembled from the cold.
The first thought that crossed his mind upon opening his eyes was that he had not died, and he was ecstatic.
He crawled out of the tall grass, only to find a male lion with a developing mane lying next to him.
Bai Yi trembled in fear; his instinct was to run as that male lion emitted a deep, powerful roar meant to intimidate him.
After running a couple of steps, he sensed something was amiss.
He looked down...
He had become a big lion.
Bai Yi: "......"
Damn, is this for real?
Amidst the pouring rain, he lifted his paw to inspect it repeatedly and confirmed that he had indeed transformed into a large lion.
He attempted to speak, but the sound that emerged was the deep, resonant roar of a male lion: "Roar~!"
Bai Yi: "......"
Damn, this is incredibly surreal.
Turning back to look at the little male lion nearby, Bai Yi discovered that a lioness was lying next to him, surrounded by three rain-soaked cubs all trying to nurse at her side.
Bai Yi’s heart gave a jolt as he found the scene eerily familiar.
He moved a few steps toward them and was astonished to discover that lying in the grass was "Emma" who they had followed not long ago.
And "Emma" was already dead; the cubs around her were her offspring, including the male lion on the verge of subadulthood.
That male lion was called "Jason"; the name was chosen by Bai Yi himself.
Suddenly, his heart felt as if something had seized it, and a wave of pain spread through him.
Bai Yi attempted to approach, but "Jason" was full of caution toward him; every step he took prompted the little, drenched male lion to emit a low, threatening growl from his throat in an effort to scare him away.
"Emma" was already dead; however, her cubs refused to leave. They simply assumed that their mother was merely resting from exhaustion, so they obediently waited for her to wake up.
She would never wake up again.
After 'Emma' was gravely injured, their crew attempted to rescue her; by the time they reached her, she had lost too much blood, and even though they managed to stop the bleeding in time, it was not enough to save her.
It was at that time that personnel from the Wildlife Protection Research Institute came to halt their live broadcast and imposed a hefty fine.
Later, everything regarding 'Emma' was handed over to the appropriate authorities.
He had believed that after 'Emma' died, her cubs would be taken to a zoo; however, under the current circumstances, that did not appear to be the case.
The rain was still falling, and the long rainy season in Maasai Mara was expected to last for over three months, with rain likely each day.
Bai Yi looked at his own form and then at Jason along with the three cubs.
He remained in place for a long while without moving.
He hoped that what he was experiencing was merely a dream, a product of his guilt regarding 'Emma''s family.
He wished that when he woke up, he would still be human...
He lay in the rain once more, and when he woke up, the sky had grown dark.
On the Maasai Mara grasslands, in addition to the pattering of rain and the howling of wind, there were also the desperate cries of several hungry cubs.
Bai Yi opened his eyes and saw Jason licking his mother, with intermittent whimpers escaping from his throat.
Bai Yi finally came to terms with the reality that he had turned into a lion.
He examined his own form and recognized that he was a robust, adult male lion. Being here implied that his pride was likely nearby.
Lions are animals that gather together for warmth.
And before her death, "Emma" had wished to find a protector for her cubs.
After many lionesses in a pride give birth, they help care for the cubs of a fallen lioness; this is a widespread practice within lion prides.
Male lions are different, for they discern the cubs based on their mothers and then kill those that do not belong to them.
'Emma' took a risky move; since she was already doomed, she decided to send her cubs to a location with a lion pride, and if luck favored her by bringing them to a lioness who had recently given birth, then her three cubs could be saved.
If luck was unfavorable and they encountered a male lion or other ferocious beasts, her four children might all be wiped out.
At the brink of despair, with no other recourse, she had to take this step.
It must be said that 'Emma' had won her gamble.
According to Bai Yi's studies on lions, he was convinced that a pride must be nearby, for this place would not be so tranquil otherwise.
Even the desperate cries of the hungry cubs could lure predators.
The immediate priority was to find a lioness capable of nurturing the three cubs.
He tried to approach Emma, but Jensen repeatedly issued warnings to him.
The two-and-a-half-year-old young male lion attempted to protect his mother and his younger siblings with his own might, yet he was still too weak.
Bai Yi roared at him, and the young male lion retreated several steps in fright, yet the deep, menacing growl from Bai Yi's throat did not cease.
Bai Yi stood in the rain, surveying the endless rainy-season grassland, a sight that evoked utter despair.
He had never before considered survival to be such an arduous challenge.
It was evident that their mother had been dead for quite some time, and the three starving cubs were still desperately suckling at her milk.
Bai Yi went over and bit the three cubs at their necks to pull them apart.
He had to find a way to make the three cubs follow him, as he intended to lead them to a nearby pride.
As for Jensen, he was already two and a half years old. Although he still lacked hunting experience, with his mother dead, he had to learn to survive on his own.
Jensen didn't care.
He planned to carry one cub away in his mouth to see if the others would follow.
However, before he could pick up a cub. Jensen bared his teeth to warn him; the deep, menacing growl from his throat conveyed his anger and fear.
Bai Yi believed that he wouldn't challenge the authority of that male lion, so he paid no mind.
When he tried again to pick up a cub, Jensen pounced on him ferociously!
Damn, this motherfucker really is a hothead; can he be so bold at such a young age?
Today, I'll teach you how to be a lion!
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