Being a Dad in the Animal World
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Bai Yi wasn’t afraid.
Alone and unburdened, he was an unshakable force. Even if these two male lions wanted to fight him, they had to prove they had the strength to do so.
So, he had no fear of them.
What he feared was Gou Dan’s safety. If a cub was targeted by predators, it was nothing more than a walking buffet.
Normally, after a male lion fulfilled his duty of passing on his lineage, he wouldn’t stay with the pride.
The lionesses and cubs remained together, while the males patrolled the borders of their territory.
Some prides had enormous territories, and a single patrol could take a male lion an entire week. They would roam along the edges, driving away intruders.
Since no other lions had shown up, Bai Yi concluded that this pride had a vast territory, and these two male lions were its leaders, currently on patrol.
The lions he encountered earlier likely weren’t part of their pride.
That made things easier—under the watchful, threatening eyes of these two males, he still had a chance to find Gou Dan.
The cub’s scent led deeper into the territory, but it was faint. That was what unsettled Bai Yi the most.
Aside from the overpowering scent of these two males lion, there wasn’t even a trace of blood in the air.
That was a good sign, Gou Dan was likely still alive. If he had died, the surrounding area would have reeked of blood.
He silently thanked nature for granting lions such an incredible sense of smell.
The two male lions growled in warning, trying to drive him away. But Bai Yi couldn’t leave, he had to find Gou Dan.
Instead of backing off, he stepped forward, moving toward them.
The sun had already set, and the sky darkened with heavy clouds, a sign that rain was coming soon.
Rainy season was good, but the constant downpours were exhausting. It had only been two days since the last bit of sunshine.
The viewers watching the livestream were just as tense. Some were so focused they couldn’t even eat.
Once night fell, the filming crew would stop working. They would rely on drones to continue tracking, but the stream would end.
Usually, when the streamer logged off, no one made a fuss. But tonight, the viewers bombarded the chat with gifts, refusing to let the stream end.
One viewer even tipped $10,000 in one go, instantly becoming the center of attention in the chat.
He demanded, “You’re not logging off! I just tipped this much to see Bai Yi find the cub and take on two male lions. Are you seriously cutting the stream at the most crucial moment? Did I give you permission?”
Some viewers even started making threats. “If you don’t stay online tonight, we’ll mass-report this account. All your hard work will go to waste!”
The streamer, under pressure, had no choice but to keep the livestream going. The camera captured the filming crew having their meal, and the streamer mentioned that they would soon switch to the drone footage.
Originally, they thought the number of viewers would decrease at night. However, strangely enough, the audience not only remained but even increased, with many people starting to send donations.
No one would refuse money. After finishing their meal, the filming crew braved the heavy rain to continue following Bai Yi.
This pleased the audience.
Since the launch of 'Animal Kingdom' the show had never seen such an overwhelming response.
Wearing a raincoat in the pouring rain, the streamer used a night-vision camera to capture Xiao Bai and brought up the former intern, Bai Yi.
"It's a pity that Mr. Bai Yi is not here to witness this moment. If he knew our project was finally gaining traction, he would surely be happy. I hope he can see our achievements from heaven, his dream is coming true."
Some viewers were familiar with Bai Yi. Previously, as an intern photographer, he frequently appeared on camera.
He was a cheerful young man with a bright smile and good looks.
However, at that time, netizens were irrational. After the lioness Emma died, the entire internet lashed out at the production team and Bai Yi with insults and accusations.
On his way back to his home country, Bai Yi perished in a plane crash.
Now, when his name was mentioned again, only silence remained.
The chat was filled with messages saying, "Rest in peace."
This was the way of the world. Those who had done nothing wrong but were misunderstood suffered while they lived. Only in death did they receive kindness from the world.
Death brought love to the world.
But for Bai Yi, this was no comfort. It was perhaps even more painful than being pierced through the heart.
Fortunately, he would never know how humans treated him after his death.
Because in this new life, he lived among animals. There was no injustice, no tears—only the relentless pursuit of survival, only the determination and perseverance to keep moving forward.
As expected, Bai Yi faced off against the two male lions alone. He sustained minor injuries, but in exchange, the male lions fled, giving him a chance to continue his search.
The rain poured down again. It was destined to be a sleepless night. Gou Dan’s scent was gradually washed away by the rain, becoming fainter and nearly undetectable.
In such difficult conditions, finding the cub was even harder than searching for a needle in a haystack.
The filming crew continued to follow him, which puzzled Bai Yi. Normally, they would wrap up once night fell, but tonight, they remained.
However, this was not his concern. What mattered now was finding Gou Dan.
He searched deep into the night. At some point, the filming crew had left, but Bai Yi continued wandering aimlessly.
The growing despair in his heart became overwhelming. He was completely soaked, his body heavy from the rain.
Worrying about Jason and the others, Bai Yi had no choice but to turn back and return to Jason and the remaining two cubs.
If Gou Dan was truly lost and could never be found, there was nothing he could do.
He had no advanced tracking technology and had even hoped the filming crew might have clues about Gou Dan’s whereabouts.
But the crew’s focus was on filming him and Jason, meaning there were no records of the cub’s movements.
For the first time, Bai Yi felt lost and powerless.
By the time he returned to Jason and the two cubs, he was exhausted—both hungry and drained.
Jason seemed to sense his fatigue. As Bai Yi lay down in the shelter of a bush to escape the rain, the two cubs curled up against him for warmth.
Jason gently licked Bai Yi’s fur, as if trying to comfort him.
Bai Yi felt an ache in his heart. Losing Gou Dan was like losing a child he had raised, his heart felt empty, filled with unbearable sorrow.
So, he didn’t reject Jason’s gesture and allowed him to dry his fur.
He lay there until midnight. When the rain finally lightened, Bai Yi made up his mind to search once more.
He stood up and left the bush. Jason watched him, and Bai Yi let out a low growl, signaling Jason to look after the two cubs.
Then, he turned and headed back in the direction he had come from.
After being drenched in the heavy rain, Goudan was extremely uneasy. He crawled out from the bushes in the dark night, realizing that all the other animals were already gone.
He called out anxiously a few times, but there was no sign or scent of Bai Yi, Jason, or the others.
Frightened and panicked, the little one kept calling as he ran toward the spot where they had rested before.
However, as the rain gradually stopped, some hunters were bound to come out. Goudan’s cries became the most enticing melody of the night.
A hungry leopard emerged in search of food and was the first to hear Goudan’s calls. It started following him from behind.
At the same time, a pack of hyenas out hunting also heard Goudan’s cries and rushed in the direction of the sound.
A lone leopard and a dozen hyenas crossed paths. The leopard was no match for the hyenas and was forced up a tree, watching helplessly as its prey escaped.
The hyenas, relentless in their pursuit, grew excited at the thought of this "walking buffet" in the night.
The little cub ran fast, and despite chasing for a long time, the hyenas couldn’t catch him. But they weren’t about to give up on a meal so easily.
What they didn’t expect was that the little one would run straight into an unfamiliar lion pride’s territory. After chasing him for about a mile, they were scared off by the roars of the patrolling male lions at the border.
If it had been just one lion, they might have taken the risk. But facing two male lions, they had no choice but to stop at the edge of the territory, chattering nervously.
However, whether it was hyenas or lions, neither was good news for Goudan.
The hyenas would eat him, but the unfamiliar male lions, who weren’t his father—would kill him on sight. The foreign scent only made the cub run faster.
He knew danger was right behind him, but he had to go back and find his brother and father.
The two male lions had already driven the hyenas away. Naturally, they wouldn’t ignore the cub either. They started chasing him, and if they caught him, there was no doubt they would bite him to death.
Goudan ran helplessly, crying out as he fled. The overwhelming scent of the pursuing lions made it impossible for him to tell which direction to escape.
He could only keep running while calling desperately, hoping his brother and father would hear him and come to his rescue.
At around six in the morning, the tracking crew set out to follow Bai Yi. They waited outside the bushes where Bai Yi and Jason had rested, hoping for a miracle.
Viewers were deeply concerned about the cub’s fate. By 6:30 AM, more than ten thousand people were already online in the livestream.
This was an unprecedented phenomenon. Some people had stayed up all night, risking exhaustion, just to see how Bai Yi had made it through the night.
“He came back. But what about the other cub? Did it make it back?”
That was the question on everyone’s mind.
The host faced the camera and explained to the audience, “It rained heavily last night, and the drones couldn’t keep tracking Bai Yi. We had to stop filming in the middle of the night. At that time, Bai Yi had just returned to Jason’s side. If he didn’t go out again after that, then the other cub is most likely lost… or dead.”
“I don’t think a miracle will happen today. So please don’t get overly emotional. Xiao Bai has already done his best. In the wild, no male lion would be this responsible. Please don’t criticize him.”
The viewers all promised they wouldn’t blame Bai Yi.
As the morning sun rose, Bai Yi’s family still hadn’t come out of the bushes.
The tracking crew and the audience grew anxious, but facing a powerful lion, all they could do was wait patiently.
Even though they knew the chances were slim, they were still willing to wait.
Around lunchtime, Jason was the first to appear on camera. He stretched, yawned, glanced back at the bushes, then walked toward the sunlit plains.
Maybe he was going hunting.
Bai Yi still didn’t come out.
It wasn’t until two cubs jumped out of the bushes that he lazily crawled out as well, calling to them, signaling them not to wander off.
It was obvious, everyone was disappointed. The lost cub hadn’t returned.
Just as people were about to leave the livestream, feeling dejected, Bai Yi suddenly turned back toward the bushes and let out a few more calls, as if summoning someone.
And then, a moment that moved everyone to tears unfolded...
From the bushes, another tiny cub crawled out.
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