Become a Cheetah
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On the horizon, a red sun slowly rose, and the morning on the grassland was as peaceful as ever.
The death of the young elephant Vika served as a warning to the elephant herd. The rulers of this territory were reminding the elephants that they were dealing with lions. A lion’s patience has its limits.
A young elephant wasn’t very large.
By morning, there was nothing left in the grass except bones and some scraps. The lionesses patiently waited for the cubs to clean the remaining meat off the bones.
Most of the lionesses hadn’t eaten their fill and would soon need to hunt again.
Oros had stayed with the pride all night, and surprisingly, he hadn’t eaten anything since the previous evening. Instead, he had been vigilant, keeping an eye on the elephant herd and ready to protect his lionesses and cubs at any moment.
After all, the male lion, who had been humiliated in front of the lionesses due to the elephants’ arrival, needed to regain some face.
The presence of the male lion was also a deterrent to the elephants.
The elephant herd had lost a young elephant, and they now had two choices: either retaliate or leave.
In the end, the herd chose the latter. The matriarch of the elephant herd, Martha, gently comforted her daughter, who had lost her child. They were about to embark on a new journey.
Vika’s death reminded Martha that it was best not to linger in this lion territory any longer. Besides Vika, there were five or six other young elephants in the herd, and Martha had to consider the safety of the entire group.
Moreover, Vika’s death was inevitable. Even if the lions hadn’t killed him, the herd couldn’t have taken a lame young elephant with them on their journey.
It might sound cruel, but this was a natural law formed over millions of years, and no animal could defy it, not even elephants.
After all, lions are lions. They are the top predators of the grassland. Vika’s death also brought back unpleasant memories for Martha, of a time when a terrifying lion pride ruled a territory she never wanted to return to.
The departure of the elephant herd was as sudden as their arrival. Just as Oros was brimming with fighting spirit, ready to prove himself, the elephants left the lions’ territory without so much as a goodbye.
The elephants’ decision brought relief to the lionesses. Those intruders were finally gone.
Oros, however, felt a bit deflated. The male lion, who had wanted to showcase his strength and regain his pride in front of his lionesses, had been stood up by his opponents. It was like having a fully grown wildebeest right in front of him, only for it to get up and run away like the wind!
Tina, unimpressed by his demeanor, swiped a paw at Oros, who was baring his teeth, and flicked her tail.
"Did you really want to fight the elephants? Do you want us to find a new mate?"
Hona, while grooming one of the cubs, glanced at Oros and muttered, "Idiot!"
The other lionesses watched with amusement, and even the cubs joined in the fun.
Well, the male lion, who had hoped to redeem himself by confronting the elephants, was once again deeply humiliated…
The departure of the elephant herd didn’t have much impact on the cheetahs. At the moment, Luo Qiao was tracking a small group of greater kudus near the boundary of Parson and Jairo’s territory. These antelopes, with their white stripes, were extremely alert. Getting close to them without being detected was exceptionally difficult.
Declining Parson and Jairo’s offer to help, Luo Qiao decided to hunt on his own to feed his cubs. Once they got through this tough period, he would repay the brothers with prey.
Luo Qiao also began to seriously consider whether he should find a territory and settle down.
"Dad, my brother and I can help."
Luo Sen once again asked Luo Qiao to let them participate in the hunt. Luo Rui was also eager to join, but Luo Qiao wasn’t willing to let the two young cheetahs take such risks. They were still too young.
He had specifically consulted Hida, who told him that cheetah cubs couldn’t hunt larger prey until they were around fourteen months old. Even when they first became independent, their main diet consisted of small prey like hares.
At this age, the only chance they had to practice hunting was with live prey brought back by their mother, usually young antelopes that had just been born.
Luo Qiao certainly couldn’t let six-month-old cheetah cubs hunt something as large as a greater kudu. Just imagining them chasing after the antelopes made him break out in a cold sweat. These so-called kings of the antelopes could kick them flying with a single blow.
Parson and Jairo followed Luo Qiao and his cubs from a distance. Since Luo Qiao had said he didn’t need their help, Jairo was happy to take it easy. Parson’s reaction, however, was more ambiguous. Jairo felt that if his brother wanted to pursue that evolved male cheetah, he shouldn’t always be so aloof.
"What should I do then?" Parson asked Jairo. "Or should I be like you, chasing after them until my nose bleeds?"
"Brother, that’s not fair…"
Jairo bared his teeth at Parson. So what if he had been taught a lesson by Hida last time? Did Parson have to bring it up again and again?
As the brothers were talking, Luo Qiao instructed the two cubs to hide in the tall grass and stay quiet. He used the grass as cover to sneak closer to the grazing kudus. Whenever an antelope raised its head, he would stop and wait until it went back to eating before moving again.
The cubs watched Luo Qiao’s every move with bated breath. Mimicking Luo Qiao to learn hunting skills was instinctual for them.
The greater kudus didn’t seem to notice the cheetah lurking in the grass. They grazed leisurely, and three male kudus lay down to rest, their massive curved horns intimidating to any predator.
Luo Qiao’s target wasn’t them, but a female kudu that was slightly separated from the herd. Her body was round and barrel-like, likely because she was pregnant. Moreover, female kudus didn’t have those large horns, making her an easier target for Luo Qiao compared to the other adults.
The cheetah inched closer to his target, and when he was about thirty meters away, he burst out of the grass like a bolt of lightning. From a standstill to full speed, it took less than three seconds.
The kudus, startled, immediately scattered. The female kudu Luo Qiao had targeted panicked and ran in the opposite direction of the herd, giving Luo Qiao a rare opportunity!
Her heavy body slowed her down, and Luo Qiao caught up to her within two hundred meters, trying to trip her with his claws. But the adult kudu was too heavy. Luo Qiao ended up clinging to her hindquarters with both paws, being dragged along as she ran.
The scene was anything but graceful.
The female kudu soon realized that Luo Qiao didn’t have much strength left. She decided to stop running and instead shook him off, turned around, and began chasing Luo Qiao. In an instant, the roles of predator and prey were reversed.
Some inexperienced cheetahs had been injured or even starved to death because of such sudden counterattacks from their prey.
Seeing this, Parson immediately ran toward Luo Qiao, with Jairo close behind.
Luo Qiao, however, didn’t seem nervous. He kept dodging the kudu, and when she charged at him and couldn’t stop in time, he suddenly leaped into the air, transforming mid-jump and landing on the kudu’s back.
He wrapped his legs tightly around the kudu’s body, one arm around her neck, and the other reaching for her eyes. But the kudu shook him off, causing him to lose his balance. His hand missed its mark and instead ended up firmly lodged in the kudu’s nostril.
Yuck…
At that moment, both the cheetah and the kudu froze.
Did he just stick his hand up her nose?
What kind of hunting method is this?
Fortunately, Luo Qiao quickly regained his composure. He lowered his head and bit down hard on the kudu’s neck, tearing into it with force. He shook his head, increasing the intensity of his bite, and within moments, he had ripped open the kudu’s skin.
The pain drove the kudu nearly mad, but Luo Qiao didn’t have time to care. He tightened his grip around the kudu’s neck with both hands and bit down again and again.
In just a few moments, the wound on the kudu’s neck was a bloody mess, and blood gushed out. As the blood loss increased, the kudu’s resistance grew weaker and weaker until it finally collapsed.
Jairo stared at the scene in shock, muttering in disbelief, "Is this guy planning to eat that kudu alive? That’s brutal! Brother, maybe you should reconsider your choice. There’s more than one pretty evolved male cheetah out there…"
Parson ignored his brother’s nonsense. He had stopped in his tracks the moment Luo Qiao jumped onto the kudu’s back. This evolved male cheetah never failed to surprise him.
Luo Qiao jumped off the kudu’s back and looked at the still-breathing prey. After making sure it no longer had the strength to resist, he called over the two cubs and instructed them to perform the final step.
"Kill her."
Luo Sen and Luo Rui weren’t new to dealing with live prey, but facing something this large made them hesitate. They instinctively bit into the kudu’s neck, but the problem was their mouths were too small. Even when they opened them as wide as possible, there was no way they could kill the prey.
Luo Qiao felt a bit awkward. He had to pull Luo Sen and Luo Rui, who were biting enthusiastically but seemed more like they were playing, to the side. He then found a few tough grass stems and ended the kudu’s life.
The two cubs had been starving for three days. As soon as Luo Qiao tore open the skin on the kudu’s hind leg, they pounced on it eagerly, their little faces soon covered in blood. Luo Qiao didn’t have time to worry about that, he was starving too.
But before he started eating, Luo Qiao turned to Parson and Jairo and asked, "Do you want to join us?"
Free food was something no one would turn down, and Parson and Jairo were no exception. As they walked over to the prey and lay down beside it, Luo Qiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Since they were eating the prey he had caught, Parson wouldn’t have the nerve to bring up that "thing" again, right?
But Luo Qiao had miscalculated. He had completely forgotten that cheetahs’ habits and ways of thinking were entirely different from humans’. Only cheetahs with close relationships would invite others to share their prey.
Although they had shared a giraffe before, Parson and Jairo had contributed to that hunt. This kudu, however, was entirely Luo Qiao’s catch, and by inviting Parson and Jairo to eat, he had unknowingly sealed his fate. The naive cheetah dad was destined to become a tragic figure, placed squarely on the tea table of life…
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"Kudus" refers to a type of antelope.