African Cats Page #4

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the rest of the River Pride.

The fighting is over.

Kali and his sons rule.

Their will is now law

on both sides of the river.

Kali's sons try to make peace

with the lionesses.

But in the battle

the youngsters were driven away.

The pain of losing them

is still too fresh.

The pride's young males

are in the greatest danger.

Kali's gang view them as a threat

and hunt them down.

Mara also fled in the battle,

but as a lioness, is in less danger.

For the first time in her life,

she is alone.

She has lost everything.

Kali's gang

drive out Mara's young male cousins,

banishing them

from the pride lands forever.

And there is only one escape route,

across the river.

The river has swollen,

but the young males

have no choice but to cross.

And now,

the crocodiles have the advantage.

The youngsters know

what lurks just beneath,

but they fear Kali more

than they fear crocodiles.

The current drags them down

into deeper water.

They are in over their heads

in every sense.

They've escaped,

But just by the skin

of a crocodile's teeth.

With all the warring between lions

south of the river,

life in the north has been

relatively carefree for Sita.

The cubs have grown to young adults,

but they're still cubs at heart.

Sita is not finished with their training.

It's time for another journey,

one where they can learn

the final lessons they'll need to survive.

Lesson one, buffalo are very grumpy.

Lesson two,

Never get fresh with an ostrich.

The savanna

is the greatest schoolyard,

but some of the other kids

are a bit different.

A serval cat is drafted

into a game of tag.

It's no fun for the serval,

but the young cheetahs

can safely test their skills

against smaller teeth and claws.

And wouldn't every cat

just love to chase a dog?

A jackal is the perfect size.

Lesson three,

even little dogs bite back.

Lesson four,

hyenas.

The cubs remember all too well

Their terrifying encounters with hyenas

when they were small.

Now, they must learn

to stand their ground.

The cubs have finally come to terms

with hyenas.

They're close

to becoming independent cheetahs.

But not just yet.

With her family blown to the wind,

Mara has found living alone

a challenge.

With no pride to hunt with her,

she's going hungry.

Warthogs seem to be the perfect meal,

small, tasty and easy to catch.

Not quite so easy after all.

The herds are still gone,

and all the other alternatives

seem to be

super-sized.

But young lions

think they're a match for anything.

lf only Mara had taken Sita's class

in avoiding grumpy buffalo.

Now the real cost of losing her family

is painfully clear.

Mara was driven out

before she learnt to hunt.

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