After leaving the Parzin and Jarlow brothers, Cyrus returned to the territory of the Orus lion pack with two young cheetahs. The lion pack has been active at the border of the territory during this period, which is good news for Cyrus and two cheetahs. At least, they can walk in the opposite direction of the lion pack without worrying about encountering lions on the way.
Occasionally, Cyrus would take the cheetahs to the riverbank for a few laps, and if lucky, they would be able to catch the coming antelopes and wart pigs to drink water. Although the prey is not large, they can always manage to be full for a day.
However, as the little cheetah grew up day by day, its appetite became larger and larger. In the past, a little warthog could feed three cheetah cubs, but now it was impossible even to feed two of them. Calvin and Charlie were very sensible. They no longer clung to Cyrus as before, asking their father to catch prey. Cyrus, however, felt sad to see his sons only grow in height but not in weight.
The child is too sensible and also worried about others. He only has to work so hard to raise two. I really don't know how those mother cheetahs who raised five or six children did it.
Indeed, the ladies of the big cat kingdom are magnificent and powerful!
Gradually, crocodiles and hippopotamuses seemed to have become accustomed to occasionally wandering around the riverbank, catching a small animal called a cheetah.
"Dad, are you still going to the river today?"
Charlie lay next to Cyrus and rubbed his chin. At their age, they still played coquettish with their father, but from their gaming and running speed, we can already see the embryonic form of the grassland speed king in the future.
"I won't go today."
In fact, Cyrus plans to no longer approach the Gangsa River in the near future.
Since the beginning of the dry season, without any rain falling on the grassland, the water level of the Gangsa River has been continuously decreasing, and some sections of the river can already see the riverbed. Crocodiles and hippopotamuses compete for living space, while large herds of hippopotamuses crowd a piece of water, vying for the best spot. These irritable giants never understand the meaning of humility.
Chaos is inevitable.
Adult hippopotamuses crowded and trampled on each other, and even five or six meter long crocodiles dared not approach the hippopotamus herd at this time. After the chaos of the hippopotamus pack was quelled, a small hippopotamus suffered unfortunate consequences and died under the pressure of its companions.
The hippopotamuses were not intentional, they just instinctively vented their irritable emotions, but tragedy inevitably occurred.
The body of the hippopotamus was pushed up to the riverbank, with the mother hippopotamus guarding beside it. The crocodiles were eager to move, but dared not approach recklessly. The sad mother hippopotamus could easily send them to the west with just one bite. The death of the little hippopotamus is irreparable, and this sad mother will always return to the river. At that time, the body of the little hippopotamus will become a feast for scavengers.
Cyrus and two young cheetahs witnessed this scene firsthand. The death of the hippopotamus did not bring them food, and the cheetahs did not eat carrion, but they could no longer wait here for prey to drink water. Lions, hyenas, and vultures would all be attracted by the body of the hippopotamus.
The father and son could only return empty handed, hungry and falling asleep.
Unable to wait for opportunities on the riverbank, Cyrus plans to take two little cheetahs to the locust forest to try his luck.
During the dry season, only a small amount of grass remains there. The herbivorous animals that have settled here for a long time, such as the antelope, mostly go to the locust forest to search for food. But these animals, no matter which one, are too big for Cyrus.
Cyrus can only expect to have cubs or injured members around them.
Of course, this is just a beautiful expectation. Cyrus is not like the brothers Parzin and Jarlow. He has no helpers and, relying solely on himself, it is very difficult to capture a robust adult black spotted antelope, let alone large antelopes like the koala and the horned antelope.
But he can only take risks, either catch prey or starve to death.
Perhaps Cyrus's prayer was fulfilled when three cheetahs walked into the locust forest and saw a group of wild antelopes grazing.
Cyrus lurked in a tall grassy area with two cheetahs, their spotted bright beige fur blending with the withered yellow grass. The antelope eating grass did not notice them, just wanted to catch one of them, which is still an almost impossible task.
If he had promised Parzin to live together, perhaps he wouldn't have been troubled by it today, but when he thought of mating or something, Cyrus immediately threw his newly conceived idea into the corner of the wall.
"Dad..."
"Shh, don't make a sound."
Cyrus asked the two cheetah cubs to lower their bodies and press tightly against the ground. They observed the group of antelopes through the gaps in the grass. When he found that there were three immature calves among this group of zebras, he didn't know whether to feel happy or troublesome. Compared to other antelopes, zebras are very special. Female zebras are more aggressive than male zebras, as can be seen from the fact that they take the initiative in courtship. This also makes it very difficult to capture zebra calves. Unlike lions, a single cheetah cannot compete with an adult zebra, let alone a female zebra who is eager to protect her offspring.
However, regardless, Cyrus must give it a try.
As the temperature rises, the antelopes begin to lie on the ground to rest, which is a good opportunity for Cyrus.
"Just lie here obediently, don't make a sound, don't move, remember?"
"Dad, we can help."
Cyrus licked Calvin's nose and said, "Be good, you're still young and obedient."
The little cheetah lowered its head, Cyrus licked his ears again, and Charlie felt his brother's frustration. He leaned over and said, "Brother, I also want to help dad, but we're too young to cause him trouble."
Calvin nodded, and the two little cheetahs lay quietly in the grass, no longer making a sound.
Cyrus pressed his body tightly against the ground, quietly approaching the target prey in a crawling posture. Perhaps God was also taking care of him. A little antelope left his mother, and Cyrus observed the surroundings. As long as the little antelope walked further, he had confidence to avoid other antelopes, catch him as quickly as possible, and hide in the tall grass.
Little Kangling was completely unaware of the danger around him. He gradually relaxed his guard and distanced himself from the group of Kangling. While eating grass, he approached the cheetah lurking in the grass.
Finally, when Xiaokangling was less than twenty meters away from Cyrus, his intuition made him quickly turn around and run away, but it was already too late. Cyrus jumped out of the grass and quickly tripped over the little antelope, tightly biting its neck and dragging the prey into the high grass at the fastest speed.
Cheetah's teeth are very small and cannot penetrate the prey's neck. They can only bite the trachea and suffocate it.
The struggling voice of the little antelope alarmed the adult antelope, but they could see nothing except a patch of dry grass. Until the voice of the little antelope disappeared, many antelopes did not realize what had just happened.
The mother of Kangling realized that her child was missing. She angrily rushed towards the grass and carefully sniffed the scent of the little Kangling, but the wind helped Cyrus a lot. Against the wind, Kangling's mother found nothing.
Cyrus bit tightly on the neck of the little antelope, nervously staring at the group of antelopes until the mother antelope gave up and left with her companions, only to breathe a little sigh of relief. Dragging the little antelope towards the hiding place of the two little cheetahs.
This little antelope is enough for the father and son to have a full meal, but Cyrus still lets the two children eat first, standing on the side to be wary of other predators that may appear at any time.
Calvin ate for a while, replacing Cyrus, followed by Charlie. The three cheetahs took turns so that everyone could eat without Cyrus being unable to eat a bite of meat due to the presence of other predators.
Although the three cheetahs wolfed down their prey, the appearance of hyenas still caused them to lose their prey. If there were only one or two, Cyrus would still be willing to try to drive them away, but this time it was six hyenas, and Cyrus could only give up.
Fortunately, the two little cheetahs have eaten almost enough, and Cyrus has also eaten some.
The hyenas did not chase the departing cheetahs, but instead competed for the remaining antelopes, while the arriving vultures could only wait on the side. However, there is something that Cyrus is concerned about. These hyenas seem to be different from what they have seen before, even when they are eating, they show a hint of fear and nervousness.
The Orus lion pack has been doing well these days. The mother lions don't need to go hunting and have enough time to take care of and nurture their cubs. The little lions are still mischievous, and their ample milk and meat have made the thirteen surviving little lions look very good. Although they are not as chubby and round as during the rainy season, it is an undeniable fact that they are getting stronger day by day.
Orus has been relentlessly pursuing hyenas, and the hyenas under Nabi's rule have been in disarray. Perhaps before the emergence of a new female leader, the hyenas had already been destroyed.
The mighty and strong lion left its scent and footprints at the border of its territory, announcing to all the residents on the grassland that this is his territory.
The majestic roar can spread for several kilometers, and the female lions in the lion pack have heard it. Even if they are not very fond of Orus's personality and flower heart, they have to admit that having such a male lion to defend the lion pack and territory is fortunate for all family members.
Just as Orus was planning to return to the lion pack, three young female lions appeared on the other side of the territory. Their territory is adjacent to the Orus lion pack, which includes eight female lions, two male lions, and seven young lions. They are also the only nearby lion pack that can compete with the Orus lion pack.
If Tina and the lioness were to see them, the only possibility would be for both sides to have a fight, but changing the subject to Orus would be open to discussion.
Orus stood still, looking at the three lionesses. Perhaps these three lionesses were just out hunting and occasionally encountered. If that's all, Orus wouldn't fight them, even if they were a hostile group of lions.
The lionesses stopped about 200 meters away from Orus, and one of them took a few steps forward and said to Orus, "Hi, handsome guy!"
Hearing this greeting with a five-star sugar content, Orus's eyes lit up immediately.