Become a Cheetah
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Parson and Jairo needed to return to their own territory before dusk; if the lions of the Hosby pride suddenly returned, the brothers would also be in trouble. Parson again invited Luo Qiao to his territory, as the python's corpse was a problem, but Luo Qiao politely declined.
"I can handle it myself, don't worry."
Parson didn't press Luo Qiao and left with Jairo.
After the Parson brothers left, Luo Qiao squatted in front of the python's corpse, looking worried. Was it true that showing off was never a good idea?
A six-meter-long python, plus the male warthog he had eaten, this weight was simply impossible for Luo Qiao to drag. They couldn't eat it, nor could they hang it on a tree to dry as a swing. Should he just leave it at his doorstep to rot as fertilizer?
Luo Qiao sighed towards the sky, only to find vultures circling above. Their numbers weren't large, but it was enough to prove that the corpse the cheetahs disdained, they were happy to receive. Luo Qiao's previous thought that these freeloaders didn't like pythons was purely a joke. These birds of prey, which could even eat animals that died of anthrax, never got sick except when fighting each other.
They wouldn't refuse any food.
The main reason was that pythons were too rare on the savanna. Some young vultures had never even seen one. The vultures took some effort to discover this delicious meal.
However, the arrival of the vultures was very likely to attract lions and hyenas. These predators hunted on their own but wouldn't refuse a free dinner either. Once they saw the vultures in the sky, they would head straight into Luo Qiao's territory. If that happened, Luo Qiao and the two cheetah cubs could very likely be in trouble.
The python's corpse was too close to the rocky hill where they lived, and the corpse was very large. It was impossible for the vultures to finish it all before other predators arrived.
Luo Qiao had to make a decision: temporarily leave his territory or hide in the rocky hill until the python's corpse was 'cleaned up.'
Once he left, he wouldn't be able to return to his territory for some time. Staying here meant waiting for danger to come to his door.
It seemed that not only was having no meat to eat worrying, but having too much meat that couldn't be eaten was even more worrying.
"Dad, what's wrong?"
Luo Sen and Luo Rui, tired from playing, ran to Luo Qiao's side and lay down, licking each other's fur while expecting Luo Qiao to find their next meal. Luo Qiao licked Luo Sen's ear and pulled Luo Rui into his arms, watching the increasing number of vultures. He finally decided to leave here first to avoid potential danger.
"We'll leave here first."
Luo Qiao stood up, and Luo Sen and Luo Rui immediately followed him. The three of them headed towards the edge of the territory. Luo Qiao planned to go to the area bordering Monty's territory. Luo Qiao was relatively familiar with that area, and the waterhole there hadn't dried up yet, so they could find prey. As long as they were vigilant when sleeping at night, there shouldn't be any major problems.
Well, Luo Qiao could now very naturally treat the leopard's territory as a temporary resting place and refuge. Should he be considered smart, or so foolish that he liked to throw himself into the net?
"Dad, why do we have to leave?"
"The python's corpse and the vultures will attract lions and hyenas. We'll be in trouble if we encounter them."
Luo Qiao signaled Luo Sen and Luo Rui to pay attention to the increasing number of vultures. As soon as one vulture discovered the corpse, other vultures would arrive in a continuous stream. Hyenas wandering the savanna and hungry lions would just need to look up at the sky to know there was a free dinner here.
Hyenas had the strongest jaws among predators. The python's corpse, which cheetahs couldn't bite into, was no problem for them at all. They could bite through the leg bones of a buffalo as if they were chewing on brittle candy. Moreover, there was still an undigested warthog in the python's belly. For both hyenas and lions, this would definitely be considered a feast.
Luo Sen and Luo Rui watched the vultures eagerly waiting. These guys would always show up uninvited whenever they ate. Although they didn't plan to eat the python this time, seeing these freeloaders still instinctively made them want to drive them away.
"Alright, ignore them."
Luo Qiao flicked his tail and looked at the sky. He could now roughly estimate the time based on the position of the sun. In a few hours, the sun would sink below the horizon. Night was the most active time for lions and hyenas. He had to take the two cheetah cubs away from here as soon as possible.
Following closely behind the vultures were a pair of jackals. They had only wanted to scavenge some scraps, but unexpectedly, good luck fell from the sky, a whole python!
"Darling, am I dreaming?"
"No, Nalisha, all of this is ours!"
The python's corpse was six meters long. The jackal couple didn't need to fight with the crowded vultures to get their share.
The vultures' scramble was exceptionally fierce. Several lappet-faced vultures with red heads and necks and a body length of nearly three meters arrived one after another. Although they also relied on thermals to glide, their larger size compared to other vultures made them always the latecomers.
However, even if they arrived last, they could use their size to drive other vultures aside, monopolize the corpse, and enjoy it first. Smaller vultures could only swallow their anger, let alone marabou storks, which couldn't even compete with small vultures.
However, lappet-faced vultures had harder and sharper beaks and claws than other vultures, so they could easily tear open the skin of animals. Smaller vultures couldn't do this; they could only stick their heads into the inside of the corpse through the eyes, mouth, and other openings, or use the parts torn open by other predators to tear off scraps of meat.
However, unless they could find sick or naturally deceased corpses, they usually scavenged the leftovers of big cats. As for hyenas, they would clean up the corpses completely. Not to mention bones, some of them would even swallow the hooves.
Perhaps precisely because of the hyenas' eating habits, the milk of hyena mothers had the highest calorie content among all predators, and the lactation period of hyena cubs could last for more than a year. This was very different from cheetahs, lions, and leopards.
The first lappet-faced vulture to arrive spread its wings, trying to prevent latecomers from approaching the corpse. However, the python's corpse was different from other herbivores.
It was six meters long, and the vultures were almost lined up in a row, crowded into several piles. This lappet-faced vulture realized it was doing useless work and simply folded its wings, tearing open the python's skin and ripping off pieces of the corpse one after another.
The other lappet-faced vultures successively tore open openings in the python's corpse, making it easier for all the vultures to feed. Vultures had a strong sense of hierarchy, and there was a certain order to feeding, but this python corpse was enough for all the vultures, so everyone didn't care too much.
The jackal couple was unwilling to be squeezed out and stubbornly occupied a small section of the corpse. Unfortunately, a lappet-faced vulture happened to land next to the jackal. It forcefully pecked at the jackal with its beak. The male jackal didn't plan to give way, angering this raptor. A sharp claw immediately pinned down the jackal's body, the claw tips digging into the jackal's skin.
The female jackal Nalisha barked loudly, trying to rescue her husband. Fortunately, the vulture only wanted to teach the jackal a lesson; if it had been serious, it could have eaten the jackal alive.
The lappet-faced vulture released the jackal, and Nalisha immediately rushed over to lick her husband's wounds. The male jackal stood up and limped away behind the female jackal. After the two jackals had gone some distance, Nalisha suddenly barked loudly. Her barking carried far, and the male jackal immediately understood his wife's intention and also started barking.
The vultures ignored the jackal couple. They thought it was the howling of losers unwilling to accept defeat. However, the jackals' barking attracted a pack of hyenas. This was a common tactic used by jackals when snatching food from cheetahs, and now it was being used on the vultures.
You bullied me, didn't you? Well, hyenas can bully you too!
There's no such thing as the most domineering, there's always someone more domineering!
o0o
Wow
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