Being a Dad in the Animal World
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All three cubs were finally together. When the last tiny figure crawled out from the bushes, everyone was moved to tears.
The live stream chat exploded with excitement!
Everyone cheered for Bai Yi, praised Bai Yi, and celebrated Bai Yi with all their hearts!
"I can't believe it! Miracles really do happen! Bai Yi must have searched more than once last night!"
"Bai Yi, you've worked so hard! No male lion has ever been as touching as you. I really love him!"
"The whole family is reunited, this is wonderful. Bai Yi didn't give up on even one of them. That's what makes this so moving. I hope their journey ahead won’t be too difficult."
The live stream was more lively than ever. Because Bai Yi had found the missing cub and created a miracle, the viewers' donations were flooding in nonstop.
By noon, the number of online viewers had reached an unprecedented 30,000, leaving the documentary team in shock.
This project had been running for years without much success.
Every year, the production team poured huge amounts of money into it, barely making anything back.
Worse, they often faced fines from wildlife protection authorities for the deaths of the animals they filmed, making their already dire financial situation even worse.
No one ever imagined that one day, their program would gain this much attention. After their initial shock, the team was left with nothing but sadness.
They felt sorrow because their dear colleague, Bai Yi, never got the chance to witness this moment.
He had always wanted to bring awareness to the reality of wildlife conservation, hoping to inspire people to care for and protect wild animals, fostering a harmonious relationship between humans and nature.
But the opportunity never came. In fact, things had only gotten worse, until the worst happened, and Bai Yi passed away.
The male lion "Bai Yi" had broken the curse on the documentary crew, bringing them more viewers and, finally, financial support.
Even though their audience was still small compared to other major programs, the documentary team believed that one day, the whole world would know about the lion "Bai Yi" and his incredible story.
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Bai Yi trusted his instincts. Or maybe it was just his unwillingness to give up. Either way, he returned to search for Gou Dan in the middle of the night after the rain had stopped.
Even though he had already done everything he could, Bai Yi knew he would feel guilty for a long time if he didn’t find Gou Dan.
Thankfully, he went back—otherwise, Gou Dan wouldn’t have survived.
When Bai Yi found him, the little cub was being chased by two strong male lions.
His cries were filled with panic and fear. He had been calling out for so long that his voice had become hoarse.
The two lions had been beaten by Bai Yi before, so when they saw him again, they didn’t dare to continue the chase. They only growled in warning.
Gou Dan must have recognized Bai Yi’s scent because he ran toward him at full speed, calling out desperately.
Bai Yi licked him and was surprised to find tears in the cub’s eyes. Two clear streaks ran down his face.
His bright, round eyes were filled with terror and grievance.
His small body trembled uncontrollably, shaking like a leaf in the wind. He had been scared out of his mind.
Bai Yi gently licked his fur before biting down on the loose skin at the back of his neck and carrying him away without hesitation.
Bringing the cub back, despite his exhaustion, felt completely worth it.
Wang Cai and Isha seemed thrilled to welcome their brother back. They kept playing with him, licking his fur.
But Gou Dan couldn’t stop shaking. Bai Yi wrapped him between his front legs and licked him through the night.
Only then did Gou Dan finally begin to calm down and fall asleep in Bai Yi’s embrace.
The other two cubs, well-rested and full of energy, woke up early.
But Gou Dan was completely drained. He had spent the whole night running for his life, both mentally and physically exhausted.
If Bai Yi didn’t wake him up, he probably would have kept sleeping.
But they couldn’t stay here. It was already noon, and the sun was shining brightly over the lush green grasslands.
They needed to move on and find food.
The documentary crew’s vehicle was parked not far away. Bai Yi knew they were probably keeping an eye on Gou Dan’s situation, but he ignored them.
With the three cubs in tow, he headed in the direction where Jason was hunting.
Gou Dan struggled to keep up, so Bai Yi had no choice but to pick him up again.
Wang Cai and Isa followed closely behind.
The cub was about half a year old and already had some weight. Bai Yi carried him for a distance until he could no longer continue, so he set Gou Dan down and let him walk on his own.
While walking, from far away he saw Jason hunting. He charged toward a herd of gazelles without even touching a gazelle’s leg.
He was kicked by a gazelle’s hoof, leaving him dazed as he watched helplessly while the prey sprinted away before his eyes.
Bai Yi sighed.
He did not give up and even shifted his target to the buffalo herd.
Perhaps because the buffalo had attacked them before, nearly causing Gou Dan to be lost, Jason appeared exceptionally wild today.
He attacked an adult buffalo, even ignoring the surrounding herd.
When he charged in front of the buffalo and suddenly grabbed its neck and bit down fiercely, Bai Yi was utterly stunned.
He had never seen Jason so angry, almost fearless.
Of course, his actions did little damage to the buffalo. He was quickly thrown off, and the buffalo herd attacked him, their sharp horns aimed at him, which he dodged very quickly.
Hunting buffalo takes admirable courage, and failure is completely understandable.
Even an adult male lion might not be able to bring down an adult buffalo, let alone Jason.
Perhaps he smelled Bai Yi’s scent, so he approached Bai Yi with his mouth still stained with blood, possibly from the buffalo.
He always hitting Jason, and when he grows up, he will not beat up the lion who serves as both his father and his mother, will he?
After all, his behavior earlier clearly showed that he is very vindictive.
Bai Yi felt a bit indignant.
However, it is fine. When Jason grows up, he will surely leave him; and even if he does not, Bai Yi will force him to leave.
The prospect of retribution is still far off; for now, he should keep his heart at ease.
Bai Yi comforted himself with these thoughts.
It is impossible to go without food. He might barely sustain himself on some edible wild greens and grasses, but Jason and the three cubs would never eat those.
Thus, the matter of hunting had to be prioritized.
He had not eaten a single morsel since yesterday, and his strength was clearly waning; the cubs were in a similar state.
Using his keen hearing and sense of smell, he scouted for traces of food and finally caught the scent of blood.
This signified that a hunter was feeding nearby.
Bai Yi had never had any professional scruples; whenever he came across food, he would grab it regardless of who it belonged to.
Usually, the food he stole most often belonged to hyenas, African wild dogs, or leopards, and due to the natural order of the food chain, these animals were afraid when they saw him.
Today was different; he had encountered a lion pride.
In a state of extreme hunger and accompanied by cubs, and facing a lion pride of several lions, a clever lion would never provoke them at such a time.
Everyone expected Bai Yi to turn and leave with his cubs to avoid the crisis.
They never imagined that this male lion was truly fearless.
He did not even hesitate to threaten the lion pride that was eating; they would surely give him a “lesson.”
The feeding lion pride came to a halt, there was one male lion, four female lions, and several cubs.
They had hunted an adult buffalo and had just started feeding on it.
Bai Yi glanced at their fighting strength and, without any hesitation, charged in.
Jason, with the three cubs, was stunned. When he saw a group of lions launching an attack on Bai Yi, Jason also joined the battle.
Coincidentally, the lion pride, being in a state of hunger, had considerably reduced fighting power, and Bai Yi effortlessly overpowered the male lion.
The lionesses rushed in. While Bai Yi threatened with low growls, he did not idle and directly tore out the innards of the prey. Jason also joined in, biting off a large piece of ribs in one go before running off.
Jason eventually became the 'bandit leader' of the great grasslands, and Bai Yi played a significant role in that.
This lion, who was both a father figure and an older brother to him, not only shaped Jason's entire life but also influenced the lives of the three little ones.
After Gou Dan and Wang Cai left to establish their own kingdoms, the surrounding lion prides had no chance of survival.
The three little ones, full and content, looked adorable after their meal. Jason managed to eat a little as well, but Bai Yi was the only one left hungry. In the end, he just licked the bare bones to satisfy his craving.
As long as the cubs weren’t starving, Bai Yi didn’t feel too anxious. After all, he could endure hunger.
If he really couldn’t bear it, he could always eat wild vegetables and grass.
The internet was buzzing with discussions about Bai Yi’s unusual behavior. both his refusal to hunt and his questionable preferences.
#Did Xiao Bai hunt today#
#When will Xiao Bai finally start hunting#
#Why doesn’t he hunt#
These topics quickly trended, and concerned netizens were in a frenzy.
"Xiao Bai can’t be a lifelong bandit on the grasslands, right? If he doesn’t hunt, he’ll starve to death!"
"Not only is he refusing to hunt, but Jason is also following in his footsteps. Now, he just steals and runs."
"Taking what isn’t his, I hereby name them the 'Grassland Bandit Duo'."
Of course, if Bai Yi could hunt, he wouldn’t resort to stealing.
There were two main reasons why he didn’t hunt:
1. He hadn’t been a lion for long enough and still wasn’t fully ready to face the act of killing.
2. After a few attempts, he realized just how united herbivores were, and how fast they could run. He couldn’t quite catch up yet.
Because of these two reasons, he had no choice but to continue his 'bandit' lifestyle, though he still hoped that one day, he could truly become a lion.
He believed he was 'one of a kind' on the grasslands, different from all other lions, and he even took a bit of pride in that.
But when Jason's "stealing" skills surpassed his own, Bai Yi felt troubled.
He had already tried his best to keep the cubs from going down the wrong path, but it was no use.
Jason had stopped hunting too. He had completely adopted Bai Yi’s ways, boldly deceiving and robbing, to the point where even packs of hyenas no longer scared him.
It wasn’t until Jason got injured by hyenas and was chased around, eventually running to Bai Yi for help, that Bai Yi finally realized what he had been teaching him.
At that moment, Bai Yi felt utterly defeated.
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