Chapter 64: Catching Two Little Prey

Chapter 64: Catching Two Little Prey

Therefore, whether it is a meerkat or a honey badger, they must be extremely cautious when hunting venomous snakes.

It is not as if a meerkat can simply bite a venomous snake to death at first sight without worrying about the snake's venom. In reality, when fighting a venomous snake, a meerkat tries its best to avoid being bitten.

This time, the meerkat was acting in this exact manner. Although it wanted to eat the venomous snake, it had no desire to be bitten by it. Throughout the fight, it tried its best to stay out of the snake's reach.

就这样 (Thus), the meerkat and the venomous snake fought fiercely. However, the snake was no match for the meerkat. Once the snake had depleted most of its venom, the meerkat seized its opportunity to strike.

At that moment, the meerkat lunged forward and clamped its jaws onto the snake's neck. Once its neck was seized by the meerkat, the venomous snake could no longer put up any resistance.

Before long, the venomous snake was killed by the meerkat.

After killing the snake, the meerkat immediately began to feast on it.

Watching this unfold, Chu Ye thought to himself that if he went over and caught the meerkat right now, he would end up with two pieces of prey at the same time.

With this thought in mind, Chu Ye decided to deal with the meerkat.

"Humph, you little meerkat, why did you have to go and kill this venomous snake? Now I must avenge this snake."

Thinking this, Chu Ye immediately sprang out from the bushes.

The meerkat had been all ready to enjoy its meal when it was startled by the sudden appearance of a small lion leaping out of the bushes.

However, upon realizing that Chu Ye was only a five- or six-month-old cub, the meerkat's fear quickly subsided.

"Humph, just a little lion cub like you—what do you think you're doing? Don't tell me you want to steal my prey! My prey is a venomous snake, you lions had better stay away. My prey is not suitable for you to eat."

Although the meerkat saw Chu Ye, it did not take him seriously, assuming that a cub would not dare to snatch the meal right out of its mouth.

To the meerkat's utter astonishment, however, Chu Ye showed no interest in stealing the snake at all. Instead, he locked his sights directly on the small meerkat itself.

The little meerkat never expected Chu Ye to target it directly. For a moment, it was completely caught off guard and at a loss for what to do.

Since Chu Ye insisted on fighting, the little meerkat did not hold back and immediately engaged him in combat.

The little meerkat drastically underestimated Chu Ye's strength, assuming that since he was just an ordinary lion cub, he couldn't possibly possess any real prowess.

Yet the moment they actually began to fight, the little meerkat realized to its horror that Chu Ye was no ordinary cub, but a remarkably formidable one.

In no time at all, Chu Ye clamped his jaws firmly around the meerkat's neck. No matter how desperately the little meerkat struggled, it was all in vain.

With just a slight exertion of force from Chu Ye's sharp teeth, the little meerkat's neck snapped. It perished almost instantly.

***

Seeing that the little meerkat was dead, Chu Ye released its body. He then walked over, picked up the carcass of the venomous snake, and placed it right on top of the dead meerkat.

With both pieces of prey gripped in his jaws, Chu Ye trotted back toward his home.

Before long, Chu Ye returned to the pride with his two catches.

At that moment, none of the adult lions of the Jike pride were around. Lisa and Aisha had gone out hunting, while the male lion Jike was patrolling the territory.

Several lion cubs were playing beneath a large tree. Although they were a bit hungry, they were incapable of hunting for themselves and could only wait for the lionesses to bring back food.

Chu Ye dragged his prey right in front of the waiting cubs.

Upon seeing the meerkat and the venomous snake thrown before them, the cubs all wore expressions of utter astonishment.

Still, having food meant a good thing, and the little lions immediately began to scramble and fight over it.

Even though the small meerkat and the snake combined did not amount to much meat, it was a fine feast for these starving cubs.

They fought fiercely over the catch, not caring in the least how Chu Ye had managed to acquire it; all that mattered to them was that there was meat to eat.

Right at that moment, Lisa and Aisha returned from the outside, having failed in their hunt once again. They had to return empty-handed and hungry.

However, as they approached the big tree, they were met with the baffling sight of the cubs fighting over food. Lisa and Aisha were extremely perplexed, having assumed that their failed hunt meant another hungry day for the little ones.

Why were the cubs fighting over food when they returned? It was thoroughly bizarre!

"Eh? How do our cubs have food to eat? Could it be that they went out and hunted it themselves?" Lisa watched the children scrapping over the meal, her face filled with bewilderment.

Aisha felt the same way. She had expected to be greeted by the usual chorus of hungry wails from the cubs after another unsuccessful outing.

Seeing that the little ones already had food to eat brought a considerable sense of relief to Aisha's heart.

Meanwhile, Chu Ye did not join the other cubs in fighting for the food. He felt that he had eaten enough and had no desire to bicker with the rest of them over scraps.

Noticing that Chu Ye was resting by himself off to the side, Lisa walked over and affectionately nuzzled his face. Naturally, she had already guessed that these catches must have been brought back from the outside by Chu Ye.

And so, the cubs' meals for the day were single-handedly resolved by Chu Ye assisting the two lionesses.

Although the two lionesses had failed to catch anything, thanks to Chu Ye capturing two small animals, the cubs in the pride were temporarily fed.

In fact, for a lion pride, the nourishment of the cubs is of the utmost importance. Adult lions can go without food for many days without issue, but growing cubs require frequent meals.

Chu Ye was lucky today to have encountered a few small animals. If he hadn't crossed paths with them, he wouldn't have been able to bring any prey back for the other cubs.

Chu Ye now understood that his future meals would primarily depend on his own hunting skills. He could no longer rely on the lionesses to regularly bring back food for them.

After all, the prey that the lionesses targeted consisted entirely of large animals, making successful hunts quite difficult. Because of this, Lisa and Aisha frequently failed, having gone several days without a proper meal.

Nevertheless, adult lions possess a remarkable tolerance for starvation. Generally speaking, during the dry season, an adult lion can go a month without eating and not face mortal danger.

However, if a lion starves for a full month, it becomes extremely emaciated and completely lacks the strength to hunt.

Therefore, lions must eat regularly to maintain their strength and physique. Only by staying strong and robust can they continue to hunt prey successfully. It is a mutually reinforcing cycle.

Chu Ye no longer counted on the two lionesses to provide for him; he knew he was fully capable of feeding himself. Even though he was only a six-month-old cub, Chu Ye could already survive on his own.

The weather on this particular morning was exceptionally fine. During the dry season, the savannah's weather was perpetually clear day after day. Without rain, the days naturally remained sunny throughout.

That morning, Chu Ye set out to hunt on his own once again, as the two lionesses still failed to secure any large game, managing only the occasional small creature.

Such small prey was nowhere near enough to feed an entire pride—let alone the hungry cubs, even Jike himself was constantly starving. Though Jike was a mighty male lion, during the dry season, securing prey was an uphill battle for everyone, young and old alike.

Watching the two lionesses head out to hunt that morning, Chu Ye ventured alone into the bushes to find his own food.

He wondered if he would stumble upon venomous snakes again today. Though Chu Ye didn't particularly want to eat snakes anymore—having consumed quite a few of them lately, he really wanted a change of menu—the bushes seemed to teem mostly with such small creatures. In the dry season, even venomous snakes had to constantly forage for food, which was why Chu Ye frequently encountered them in the undergrowth.

Today, however, no snakes crossed his path. Instead, he spotted a springhare.

This was precisely the food Chu Ye desired most. To him, the meat of herbivores was simply the most delicious kind. Compared to venomous snakes, meerkats, or honey badgers, the meat of those animals paled in comparison to true herbivores.

Even warthog meat did not taste as good as pure herbivore meat, given that warthogs were omnivores.

Chu Ye had half-expected to run into another king cobra or python today. To his pleasant surprise, the moment he stepped out, he spotted a rabbit-like creature grazing peacefully in a patch of grass amidst the bushes.

The sight of the rabbit instantly made Chu Ye lick his lips. Having eaten several venomous snakes in a row, he was more than ready for a change of flavor!

Yet Chu Ye knew that catching this rabbit would be no easy task.

Small animals like springhares possessed incredible agility. Their escaping abilities were exceptionally strong, making them notoriously difficult to capture.