Being a Dad in the Animal World
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Jason's body was already covered with many scars from hyena bites, yet he still insisted on placing the stolen food in front of Bai Yi and the cubs.
Perhaps he knew that being by Bai Yi’s side meant safety, so he proudly faced a group of hyenas, roaring to show his dominance.
Bai Yi's understanding was that he was showing off to the hyenas: "Come at me, you want to try again? I’ve got my brother, I’m not afraid of you!"
Soon, this ungrateful creature confirmed Bai Yi’s thoughts once again.
He arrogantly turned back to roar at the hyenas, showing them he wasn’t scared.
Seeing his foolish behavior, Bai Yi quickly pulled out the innards from the prey to feed the cubs.
He didn’t slack off either, eating as much as he could because he knew the hunters could smell the scent and would act soon.
Once the cubs were done, Bai Yi noticed Jason still yelling at the hyenas in the distance.
After muttering "idiot" under his breath, he quickly led the cubs away from the battlefield.
Not far from there, they noticed the hunters hiding in the grass, and Bai Yi’s heart skipped a beat.
Meanwhile, Jason, after threatening the hyenas chasing him, turned around to find his brother and the cubs had disappeared. He looked around in confusion, then panicked and ran away.
Bai Yi was surely waiting for him, but this fool had just learned the power of "dogs relying on humans." The moment he was being chased by hyenas, he acted like a coward, but when he saw his brother, he became bold again.
This was a bad habit for the cub; otherwise, he might think his brother is invincible.
Bai Yi knew this couldn’t continue. It was understandable for him to snatch food; after all, he wasn’t yet fully integrated into the lion pride.
But Jason was different. He was already a lion; he should be learning to hunt, not to steal.
Bai Yi decided that after they found a safe place to stay, he would "teach" Jason how to hunt.
Since Xiao Bai didn’t have a fixed territory, they couldn’t set up fixed cameras. The filming team could only track them through the location system.
However, after several close encounters with Xiao Bai, they had been reprimanded by the program’s director and were called in for talks with the relevant authorities.
This project had started to show promise, but the filming team didn't know their limits, always getting too close to wild lions. This behavior was dangerous.
Although they were always equipped with tranquilizer guns, accidents couldn’t be avoided.
Just a few years ago, an adventurer who got too close to wild lions was torn apart by the pride.
Additionally, their close interaction with the wild lions made the animals lose their fear of humans, which undoubtedly helped poachers.
These common mistakes caused a lot of anger from the authorities, and as the filming team continued to get too close to wild lions, netizens took to social media to educate people on the dangers of such actions.
The program team had interacted with animals in the past, but back then, no one was watching, so there wasn’t much backlash. Only after an animal’s death did the internet erupt with online abuse.
They thought Xiao Bai would break the curse, and that getting close to him would allow viewers to better understand him, so they ignored the risks.
As a result, they were taught a lesson by netizens.
It had to be said that while the project was improving, there were both advantages and disadvantages.
It brought joy and wealth but also caused many problems.
The director of the program personally apologized and promised that such a mistake would never happen again.
Netizens were very strict about this matter, but it was a good start.
For a whole week, Bai Yi hadn’t seen his adorable colleagues. He was beginning to worry, wondering if something had happened to them again.
Was there another problem with the live broadcast?
Just as he anxiously wondered about the filming team, a scene that left him speechless unfolded.
They had found a food-scarce area to rest temporarily. The bushes were lush, and their family was staying here for now. Although food was scarce, it was relatively safer.
On this day, when Bai Yi was about to go out to "hunt," he stepped out of the bushes and saw a "lioness" approaching him with a "don’t recognize anyone" attitude.
Perhaps it noticed him, as it stopped moving and even tried to act cute and roll around in front of him.
The rough design, haphazard shape, and dull eyes made it clear that it was "a prop" through and through.
The way it rolled was stiff, occasionally making a meowing sound like a cat.
Bai Yi stood there, feeling speechless and helpless inside.
When he was still with the filming team, he had once made a similar prop for filming gibbons.
Even though animals, no matter how smart, couldn't escape human ingenuity, that time they had indeed succeeded.
He didn’t know why the filming team, which had been following them so closely, suddenly sent out a "spy." As expected, this "spy" was covered in cameras.
Its eyes, mouth, nose, and even its paws were all cameras.
Soon, Jason came out and noticed this "intruder." He growled and warned it with a threatening roar.
Even the cute rolling couldn’t make Jason lower his guard.
Since the Dilai incident, Jason’s vigilance towards lions had reached its peak.
Whether it was a lioness or a lion, anyone who tried to approach his brother would not end well.
Before the "lioness" could make a move, Jason had already launched an attack on the "intruder."
He pounced and bit.
The three little ones were also woken up, emerging from the bushes. When they saw Jason fighting, they stared at him with confusion on their faces.
Bai Yi stood still, feeling a bit complicated inside.
Seeing that the lioness didn’t react, the cubs joined the battle. Soon, a rough, haphazard toy lay shattered at their feet, with cameras scattered around.
Bai Yi felt a deep sense of pity and didn’t even want to look anymore.
They had really hit a wall this time, hadn’t they?
Although Bai Yi allows the production team to rub his IQ into the ground, the kids are not allowed to do so.
However, the indestructible production team certainly won't give up so easily, and they changed their tactics again.
This time, they made a cub. Perhaps learning from past experiences, this cub was made lifelike.
It was about the same size as the three little ones.
However, when they got closer, they still went through a lot of trouble. Jason's vigilance was quite high, enough to show that the kid's intelligence was stronger than that of other lions.
Jason didn’t accept any cubs except for the three little ones, so this prop naturally became his toy. After playing with it for a couple of days, the toy was ruined again.
Just as Bai Yi thought the production team was out of options, they encountered trouble.
After Jason destroyed two props, the entire family was "carefully and cautiously" captured by the production team.
They were all equipped with cameras, no exceptions.
When Bai Yi was ambushed while resting at night, he thought to himself that he was done for.
When he woke up again, they were still in the same place, but now there were things that didn’t belong to them.
They were all wearing collars, each equipped with a pinhole camera.
However, the netizens were witnesses to a battle of intelligence between humans and animals.
A large lion face appeared on the screen. Xiao Bai called the kids over, then used his front paws to remove the collars from their necks. He growled, and Jason understood, immediately picking up the collar and tossing it over ten meters away.
No exceptions.
Soon, the screen showed only the vast, desolate grasslands, and Xiao Bai’s family had already slipped away.
Netizens who hadn’t seen Xiao Bai in a long time thought they could finally relax and watch a live stream, only to turn around and find that the lion was gone.
The host was also helpless. He explained to the viewers: "Xiao Bai’s intelligence is too high. Some of the methods we used before are no longer effective. They've broken several of our devices. Since we can't get close to him anymore, filming the next segments will be quite difficult."
While they can no longer approach closely, there are still drones.
However, the camera can’t get too close; if it does, Xiao Bai will swat it down with one paw.
The production team admitted that dealing with animals with high intelligence was a challenge they couldn’t overcome.
They could only wait for them to have a fixed resting place before they could quietly install hidden cameras.
It was the first time they had engaged in an intelligence battle with an animal, and this made Xiao Bai the lion the subject of much admiration online.
Lion fans and tiger fans began to clash.
Lion fans argued that tigers were useless on the savannah, unable to compete with lions.
Tiger fans retorted that lions were useless, needing a pride to hunt. If they were capable, they should hunt alone. How dare they compare themselves to tigers?
Because of these irrational netizens, Bai Yi and his family were put in danger.
Videos of Xiao Bai and the production team battling wits spread like wildfire online, attracting some unscrupulous people who saw commercial value in "Xiao Bai."
A lion like this, if sold to a zoo, would fetch a good price.
Someone offered a high price, hiring poachers to specifically capture Xiao Bai the lion.
'Animal Kingdom' became famous because of Xiao Bai, and the production team also gained popularity, so finding Xiao Bai’s location was not difficult.
Every year, countless wild animals fall victim to poachers. The lions of Masai Mara already face a harsh environment, and their numbers are rapidly declining.
Yet, there are still lawless individuals who disregard the law, engaging in poaching and slaughter.
Poachers are inhumane; in their eyes, there is only profit and money.
They have no sympathy.
Bai Yi never imagined that a poaching incident would happen to him.
Since the production team stopped following his family closely, Bai Yi became especially cautious, because there would be no human help if they encountered danger.
The days of wandering continued, with no end in sight.
Until one night, when the whole family was resting and the kids gathered around him, he heard human voices and understood their English conversation.
"The employer just wants that big male lion; the little ones are ours. We'll catch them and sell them to a zoo, and we can make a good profit"
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