Chapter Twenty-Three: Training the Other Young Lions to Climb Trees

Chapter 23: Training the Other Cubs to Climb Trees

If the two previous encounters with rogue male lions were merely contests of strength between adults, this latest event truly brought home to Chu Ye how dangerous and difficult it is to survive as a cub on the savanna.

Although the pride fought valiantly in this battle, all three adults sustained injuries, and they lost one cub. Nevertheless, they managed to defeat the hyenas and kill several of them, ultimately winning the skirmish.

Some of the fallen hyenas were scavenged by their own pack, but two remained—the one killed by Lisa and the one killed by the male lion, Zeke. The lionesses dragged these two carcasses beneath a large tree. Earlier, Lisa and Aisha had been too preoccupied with searching for their young to eat, and the male lion, perhaps exhausted, preferred to rest atop a large rock. It is also possible that he simply disdained the taste of hyena; after all, it is far less palatable than the meat of herbivores. Under normal circumstances, lions do not consume hyenas unless they are forced to by the severe food shortages of the dry season.

However, meat is an absolute necessity for predators to maintain their strength; without it for long periods, they fall ill and lack the energy to hunt. Once the lionesses had reunited with the cubs, the pride finally consumed the two hyenas. This provided a temporary reprieve for the Gike pride, feeding the adults and giving the cubs their first taste of hyena meat. Chu Ye had heard that hyenas were unpalatable, which explained the lions' usual reluctance to eat them.

Curious, Chu Ye decided to sample the meat himself. Although three-to-four-month-old cubs still rely primarily on mother's milk, they had already begun to experiment with solids. To his surprise, he found little difference between hyena meat and that of any other herbivore; it lacked the foul stench described in legends. Perhaps it was because he was still young and had not yet developed a refined palate for meat, but he could not discern anything peculiar about the flavor. It was like a person who rarely drinks—they cannot distinguish between fine wines, finding them all to taste the same. Yet, for Gike, Lisa, and Aisha, the hunger of the dry season made even this unappealing meal feel like a feast.

When the meal was finished, the pride considered the outcome. Though they had lost a cub, they had claimed the lives of two adult hyenas; in the brutal calculus of the wild, they had come out ahead. Life had to go on, and for Chu Ye and the surviving cubs, this was a stark lesson: the savanna is fraught with peril. Beyond the threat of rogue males challenging their father, there were countless predators lurking, ready to snatch a cub at any moment.

Chu Ye felt an immense weight upon his shoulders. He knew he was still weak, incapable of standing against formidable predators, and he realized he must grow stronger to protect himself and his pride. Furthermore, he knew the hyenas would not forget this humiliation. Hyenas are notoriously vengeful, and their queen would surely seek to settle the score.

The male lion, too, felt responsible. Had he remained with the cubs, the hyenas might never have dared to strike. From the next day on, he ceased his solitary territorial patrols during the day, choosing instead to stay close to the cubs for their protection, believing he could hide them if a rogue male appeared. The lionesses also adjusted, restricting their hunting to the night to avoid the hyenas, which favored the morning hours for foraging.

Chu Ye, meanwhile, pondered his own strategy. He possessed a unique advantage: the ability to climb trees. Neither adult lions nor hyenas were adept at this. However, the other cubs lacked this skill, spending their days nursing or playing without a thought for such training.

"This won't do," he thought. "I must teach them. If they can climb, they can escape other predators."

After they had eaten their fill, Chu Ye began his attempts to coach the others. The cubs, however, showed little interest, and no matter how he encouraged them, they remained stubborn. One particular cub—a scrawny male from Aisha’s litter—was the most resistant. Perhaps because he was physically weak, he avoided the exertion of climbing entirely. While the other cubs were at least somewhat cooperative, it was "Little Black," perhaps owing to his greater strength, who surprisingly managed to scramble all the way to the top of the tree.