PRIDE

 

The broad savannah is teaming with life and varied vegetation this year with no drought suppressing it this year as yet. The passed-his-prime male lion lazes under the spread leafy branches of the tree at its edge, watching the activities of his many females while a couple of his young offspring tussle about him playing at being alpha cat. Occasionally one the young will roll into the male’s paws and get distracted from his playmate and slap at his sire, then finally the male will take a not so playful swat and the young one will go rolling back.  Then he will return to his playmate with new zeal.

His mane no longer as glorious as when he was younger, nips evident in his ears and a couple of scars on his muzzle attest to some of the many times he has reestablished dominance of his pride.

When he was young he had himself prowled the savannah, made a few attempts at taking dominance away from older males with their established prides where he found the females receptive to an advance by a younger male until finally he had wrested the previous one here. Now some of those females were no longer here where younger ones now replaced them. His cubs were in various stages of youth and some were already out on their own roaming this wide long expanse in search of their own or already in possession of one in another stretch of area far from here.

So far no other male had been able to best him in any way but it was becoming more difficult to maintain his dominance and even his females he saw prancing about at times at the edge of their grounds becoming more blatant in their temptations of a new alpha male. His advances to some of his females were not as readily accepted as they had once been when they came into that time either.

So it is as he prowls on this late afternoon within sight of his grounds that another younger male starts to circle his domain after watching a couple of the younger females in his pride (who had not been receptive just prior to his prowling) giving mewling sounds in this his direction. This dance of challenge was starting again and he knew he was about to face another fight.

Here now they circled one another then scratched at the ground, while growling in challenge, finally a feint and a roar, then another. Now close enough to scrap they slap at each other until the first lunge draws a trickle of blood.

It is the older one who drew the first blood, but it incensed the younger one so that the blood lust was now let loose within him. The younger one sprang at the older one with a complete lack of fear. Rolling in the grass; clawing, biting one another and roaring as loud as they could. After slashes, bites and blood all around this outcome was different it was the old one slinking away into the grass. The young one stood a proud stance thrusting his body and roared to the whole savannah that he was now king.

Old One slinked off through the tall grass until he well away from the area of the tree and only when he was far enough did he stand as he could and walk slowly continuing off toward the setting sun. He had several new cuts on his muzzle, side and his entire body ached from the melee. Before dusk he lay down tired and in need of rest. During the time just before dawn a pack of Jackals started to circle where he lay. They had smelled the clotted blood and had not seen him move so were closing in for what they thought was an easy meal. Old One surprised them jumping up and sending them off tails tucked and with a couple of new scratches on their fur.

After wandering around the morning Old One saw where there was a fresh kill of a Gazelle but the hunters were gone having gorged themselves already, Carrion were starting to land nearby but Old One scattered them with ease if not still aching all over his body. He ripped off a piece of meat and lay down a ways off to eat his fill. After a short nap he got up and walked to a nearby water hole and slaked his thirst.

After a couple of days he venture close enough to another pride near a tree but a younger lion reared up and roared his displeasure starting forward in evident displeasure. Remembering the recent loss to a younger lion Old One did not wish for another fight for females and a place of dominance anywhere. So he gave the rise a wide birth until he noticed the alpha male had lay back down in the shade. As he walked a little farther he almost missed the female lion with two cubs until he heard the two cubs mewling in play. As he stopped to see what he heard the mother clouted her offspring at such noise with an unknown male so close by.

He wandered on that day and had just lay in the tall grass for a nap when he saw that same female and the two cubs trailing her. She was carrying a fresh hunk of meat in her jowls and both cubs were wishing she would stop so they could eat. When she got close he could see she was an older female and that this was probably her last litter. She dropped the meat near and stopped her cubs from feasting until the Old One shook his head then allowed the cubs to begin to eat. Slowly she approached him nearer and when she saw the clotted fairly new cuts and gashes, she lay down near and began licking the clotted blood from them so they would be clean.

The four had wandered a few days until they found a tree the Old One liked and began staying near all the time. Making this their new area of rest with Old One as the alpha as this small group.

Sometime later on a day like any other Old One was laying in the shade as the female was off hunting for fresh meat. The two cubs were playing around him snapping at each other then occasionally his paw or where his mane lay at the ground. Then when he would tire of the games he would growl low take at swat at the incessant noise and the two would lay down next to him as all three would nap.

Later on the female would return with a fresh kill for their meal and after the cubs ate they would immediately fall fast asleep. Then Old One and his female would lay close beside each other purring like young kittens and fall asleep as well.