Relentless Enemies Page #6

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When these huge males fight,

it is at enormous risk to both.

Even the victors have to

guard against a stray bite

or defensive swipe that could sever a jugular

or slice open a fatal wound.

Slowed down by the water,

the cubs are taking a risk

of their own in crossing.

The incensed Tsaro females

could easily cross right in behind them

and take the fight to the far shore.

So even though the odds

are stacked in their favor,

this attack is not driven to the point of death.

This time their point has been made,

"This is our land and we will defend it.

"The boundary has been secured."

The Tsaro pride's

aggressive defense is extreme

because at last they have

a new set of cubs to defend.

Hunters by nature, they seem to know

what they are born to.

Their play is a dress rehearsal

for what will one day not be a game.

And already they smell of lion.

It is a scent that drives the lead bulls wild.

The buffalo are incensed by the wafting,

invisible smell of lions,

and they push deeper into the Tsaro palms,

stomping at any movement.

The twin mothers have arrived,

drawn back to their cubs

by the weight of the milk they carry.

And when they see the chaos around them,

the low growls of displeasure begin.

These are angry lions now,

not calculating hunters.

Flinging themselves at the buffalo

takes them beyond

the simple contest for food.

Now they are enemies.

But when their thrusts are countered,

the scales are tipped

in the delicate confidence game

that drives everything in nature.

But any retreat would mean

sacrificing their cubs.

Not these two mothers. Not the twins.

But when the mothers check for their cubs

among the palms,

nothing but a disturbing silence greets them.

Only half of the cubs seem to have

survived the buffalo onslaught,

but then, from the safety of the palms,

three more and finally

all of them come tumbling out.

With only one casualty.

Most lions recover well from the deep cuts

they endure in their violent life

because of their thin skins

and the dry climate.

But in the swamp,

injuries are kept moist and raw,

open to infection.

The twins decide as one

to move the litter away

from the aggressive herd of buffalo.

For the injured cub,

this may be the worst time

to have to go on a long march,

especially when the only way

ahead is through water.

And as their whiskers touch

the still unfamiliar water,

they feel their future as swamp cats

for the first time on their skins.

It is a future that is extremely precarious

for the whole pride,

not just the one lagging cub.

With such extreme hunting,

it's inevitable that at least

one of the Tsaro lionesses

will be injured or killed at some time.

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