Being a Dad in the Animal World
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Bai Yi ultimately couldn’t escape the fate of having a GPS tracker installed. When he woke up again, he had already been sent back to his original territory.
The small tracking device was attached to his ear like an earring. It felt like a mosquito bite, irritating and uncomfortable. He tried to paw at it a few times, but he couldn’t get it off.
So, he simply gave up struggling.
Half-asleep, he overheard his former colleagues discussing this lion’s situation.
It turned out he didn’t have a pride nearby. He had been driven out of his former pride.
He had ruled his previous pride for barely three days. He hadn’t even had time to go into mating season before being defeated by a stronger male lion. Forced to leave his original territory, he had to search for a new one.
He was only about five years old.
At that age, a male lion was already sexually mature, meaning he could bring prosperity to many lionesses and enjoy a life of easy meals.
However, while the dream was grand, reality was harsh.
He had only stayed in that territory for three days before the pride changed leaders again.
Like some kind of joke.
Bai Yi: …
Life was difficult in every way. He couldn’t even find a place to settle down and live off others.
The strong and powerful lionesses he had set his sights on had all become the beloved mates of other lions.
Aside from his sorrow over missing out on an easy life, his inability to hunt was an even bigger problem.
As a newcomer, he had no idea how to attack those adorable little animals.
He couldn’t bring himself to cross that line.
A pride usually had at least one male lion to defend its territory.
His daily task was simple: eat his fill, patrol for intruders, and if there were none, find a spot to nap.
He had to admit, this was his ideal life. When he was human, he had been a corporate worker, so busy that his feet barely touched the ground.
Even in his dreams, he was working. The constant overload had never given his nerves a chance to relax.
Now that he was a lion, he wanted to enjoy it.
So, the top priority was finding another pride. Apart from the need to care for the cubs, Bai Yi really just wanted to live off the lionesses.
And for male lions, living off lionesses was completely acceptable.
The lionesses treated their leader with great respect. Every time they succeeded in a hunt, the male lion ate first.
That was status.
First goal: become the pride leader.
Bai Yi had made up his mind. He would track the scent of a pride, leave the cubs with Jason for now, and once he defeated the other male lions and secured a new territory, he would return to bring them over.
Of course, Bai Yi also knew that the Animal Kingdom filming crew was following him. Whether or not he could escape this curse depended on his luck.
That damned production team—he sincerely wished they would go bankrupt and shut down as soon as possible.
It wasn’t that he lacked sentimentality. He just really wanted to survive.
Even if he had turned into a lion, he couldn’t lose the will to live.
Apart from life and death, everything else was trivial.
Bai Yi set out to hunt again, failing repeatedly. If this continued, not only would the cubs and Jason starve, but he would too.
That day, he crouched in the grass once more, eyes locked on a young deer grazing in the field. A wave of guilt surged in his heart.
He silently prayed that he had no choice but to do this and hoped his sins wouldn’t be too heavy.
Before he could finish his prayer, a male lion had already charged forward, launching an attack on the herd of deer.
Bai Yi was so startled that he froze in place, his lion face filled with confusion as he watched the male lion chase after a fawn at full speed.
That male lion was none other than Jason.
Perhaps from watching his mother hunt countless times, his hunting technique was exceptionally precise. He bit down on the fawn’s throat, locking his jaws tightly. The fawn, only a few months old, barely struggled before going limp.
Bai Yi: …
This was truly beyond his comprehension.
The herd scattered in fear. Jason had secured his first kill, carrying his prey toward Bai Yi, but his success quickly attracted unwanted attention.
A pack of hyenas once again surrounded them, encircling Jason, their eyes filled with greed. They wanted to steal the food.
Bai Yi finally crawled out from the grass and charged forward, letting out a roar.
"Roar—!"
Damn it, these shameless scavengers were always eyeing others’ food.
And they always relied on numbers to bully the weak.
Even though Bai Yi didn’t dare to hunt, he was still an adult male lion, far more imposing than Jason.
Seeing two male lions, the hyenas hesitated, not daring to attack rashly.
Jason’s mouth was stained with fresh blood. They needed to feast quickly, or other predators would pick up the scent and come after them.
However, instead of immediately eating, Jason turned and walked toward the tall grass. Bai Yi crouched by the prey, watching him curiously.
A moment later, Jason emerged from the grass, bringing three cubs with him.
He quickly led the three little ones over and skillfully tore open the prey’s belly with his sharp teeth, starting with the internal organs.
The three cubs followed his lead, eagerly devouring their meal.
He made sure to give them the soft, easy-to-swallow organs first.
Not bad.
Bai Yi: …
Even though he knew this was just the way of lions, Bai Yi still couldn’t bring himself to eat.
Psychologically, he just wasn’t ready to accept it.
However, he knew that if he didn’t eat, Jason would finish quickly and leave, and he hadn't eaten much these past few days. The hunger in his stomach started to make itself known.
While eating, Jason also watched him, his sharp teeth tearing into the prey’s skin.
The ribs inside were exposed, and Jason, with blood on his mouth, ripped off a large chunk and chewed it down quickly.
Bai Yi swallowed, deciding to try eating a little.
However, he was mistaken in thinking it would be easy.
His mind couldn't accept eating raw meat, but his taste buds found it surprisingly comfortable.
As he ate, he began to tear into the prey’s spine, eating greedily.
A small, adorable fawn was consumed just like that, and it was far from enough to fill him up.
But fortunately, he now had enough strength to continue.
Once the meal was finished, there was no time to linger. Bai Yi and Jason hurriedly left with the three little ones, as staying too long would attract other predators.
This meal would sustain them for a day or two without needing more food.
Bai Yi realized that Jason was a hidden gem. Despite still being a cub, he already had such abilities.
If they couldn’t find another territory to settle in, could he rely on Jason to take care of him?
Although Jason was still just a child.
Bai Yi thought his idea was shameful. How could he possibly think of relying on a juvenile lion to provide for them?
But he was really bad at hunting. If it were up to him, all four of them would likely starve.
At the crucial moment, they would have to depend on Jason.
Bai Yi decided not to drive Jason away anymore.
Focused on survival, Bai Yi just wanted to eat soft food and didn’t care much about the fact that their activities were being live-streamed.
As expected, Bai Yi was cyberbullied when he was a human, and still faced bullying as a lion.
In the "Animal Kingdom" wilderness livestream, the comments were full of negativity, and the messages on the public screen were unreasonable, all blaming "Xiao Bai."
"What kind of lion is this, even worse than a child? Just lying in the grass doing nothing."
"Watching Jason work hard while he eats for free? In previous episodes, one group always dies, but why hasn't this one died yet?"
"Speechless, of course, lions are unreasonable animals. Even Jason, who isn’t fully grown, knows to hunt for the cubs, but this lion only knows how to eat. Calling him Little Bai is so accurate! He’s such an idiot!"
"Ugh, this is pointless. This lion will definitely die. You can tell just by looking at him, and he deserves to die!"
Harsh words were thrown at "Little Bai," while the host was desperately explaining why they were filming him, because he wasn’t an ordinary lion.
The audience sarcastically commented, "Yes, he's unusual, he's lazily unusual."
And so on.
Poor Bai Yi, who didn’t even know that being a lion still brought such heartache.
A week passed in the blink of an eye, and they finally found a new territory. However, the herbivores in this territory were all buffalo and wildebeest.
Aside from these, there were very few other dangerous animals.
One disadvantage, though, was that the swamp was not far away.
Bai Yi bravely took a bath.
Lions living in this territory were very dirty, and Bai Yi refused to be a dirty lion, so he made sure to bathe.
While he was bathing, Jason looked at him like he was crazy.
Bai Yi felt there was something in Jason's gaze.
If they couldn’t hunt food, they would have to eat carcasses, making them smell worse and worse.
Bai Yi couldn’t stand that smell.
When sleeping at night, the three little ones sleep next to him. He wouldn't let Jason lie next to him, afraid of the smell that made him want to vomit.
That night, Jason tried to lean beside him several times, but he was yelled away each time.
"Get away from your brother, you little brat!"
"Don't even smell yourself."
Bai Yi was so irritable.
Obviously, Jason knew he was being disliked, so he lay down five meters away from Bai Yi.
It was night, and Bai Yi's sharp sense of smell suddenly awakened.
When they first arrived at this territory, they had marked the boundaries. Intruders should have been able to smell them.
But the intruder didn't leave, instead, it was getting closer.
Obviously, Jason sensed it too.
He cautiously raised his head, sniffed the air, then stood up.
Bai Yi also stood up, while the three little ones were still sleeping soundly.
At that moment, the "intruder" appeared not far away.
Bai Yi let out a low warning growl, but the "intruder" instead came closer and responded with a growl.
"Roar~"
Bai Yi froze. The intruder was a lone female lion.
Bai Yi was stunned, not knowing how to respond.
He and Jason, two male lions, were at a loss, but Jason was filled with vigilance.
However, the female lion came forward and showed friendliness to Bai Yi.
She affectionately rubbed against Bai Yi and exhibited mating behavior.
She turned her back to Bai Yi and lifted her noble backside.
Bai Yi: "..."
What should he do now?
Do it, but no courage.
Don't do it, it'd be embarrassing in front of the female lion.
Maybe she's a very strong female lion. If they mated, his dream of living off someone could become a reality.
To do it or not, that's the question.
He definitely couldn't let Jason do it, he's still a kid.
Looking at the female lion twisting her body enthusiastically in front of him, making mating sounds to tempt him.
Bai Yi was in a dilemma.
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Author’s Note:
The content of this article is fictional, and the author enjoys making up random things.
As mentioned before, it's a fantasy space, which has little to do with reality. It's purely an imaginative creation, and I enjoy writing this kind of stuff.
The right to write belongs to me, not to you. Whether you choose to read or not is up to you.
A reminder: If you don't like it, don’t enter. There are many private settings here, and it’s not very related to the real animal world. If you like to be meticulous, please watch a documentary.
Otherwise, don’t get angry and send rude comments to the author. The author really doesn’t want to see nitpickers. I wish I had a nitpicker blocker.