A Lion’s Pride(Leanne Chung) A roar shattered the silence. The time had come.

A male lion stood proudly on a rock overlooking his territory, surveying the environment with his eagle-sharp eyes. No challengers or threats, or at least, for the moment. Surely that level of supervision and superiority deserved a long, uninterrupted nap. Contented, he plodded down the sloped perch and stretched out, sighing happily, underneath a tree in the welcoming shade; finally able to get away from the sweltering heat. Soon, he was fast asleep.

Meanwhile, the lion’s pack of lionesses stalked a herd of antelope, scanning for any signs of weakness or an individual that was too focused on the search for food and water: in other words, easy targets. They had been out hunting for nearly half an hour, with their two chases frustratingly unsuccessful. They had to kill soon, or they would starve. At last, an unsuspecting antelope strayed from the herd: food. The hunt had begun.

Creeping up to the mammal, two small groups formed flanks on either side of the creature. One lioness stayed behind: it was she that started the run. Now in position, the lone lioness charged down the antelope, the others keeping it from running out to the side. Soon the antelope began to tire, and the lionesses went in for the kill. They knocked it down and clamped their jaws around its throat. Finally, food for the pack.

After dragging the antelope back to the den, the lion, lionesses and the cubs feasted on the meat. Little did they know however, that their satisfaction was short-lived. A roar broke the silence.

A silhouette appeared on the horizon, roaring to announce his arrival. Another male lion had come to attempt to take the lion’s pride. But this leader wasn’t going to give away his pride for free. He was ready to fight. He stood up, and roared in answer.

As the challenger edged closer every coming second, the lionesses and their cubs backed away. If the challenger won the fight, it would kill all their cubs and eject all the females from the pride that were currently unable to breed. Then, the lioness would most likely die of hunger an attack from other predators such as hyenas. They could only watch and hope that their leader could win the fight.

The male lion growled, warning the challenger that he would fight for his pride. However, the other male was not deterred, growling back. Fighting was the only option.

The two lions reared up on their hind paws, and fought. They slashed at each other, as well as biting whenever they could. The pride leader could not afford to lose. However, the challenger delivered a critical blow, and the leader crumpled to the ground. He had lost.

Victorious, the challenger, now the new pride leader, sent off the females that were unable to breed immediately, and killed the cubs. The pride, which once consisted of six lionesses, was down to two, and the ones remaining had to submit against their will: the male was stronger than them. Only one cub managed to survive, a one-week old male, who had run off into the bushes when he saw the challenger swipe the now defeated lion that was once the leader. He was determined to either get revenge himself or help his father get revenge.

After nearly an hour of wandering, he found his mother, which was forced out of the pride, hiding in a small rocky overhang. Thankfully, she was still determined to keep him safe, healthy and to teach him to survive, even though their chances were slim. Side by side, they trotted out to the plains that wasn’t a territory of another lion.

The next day, they struck gold again. After a night without food, they came across their original pride leader. He suffered a few wounds, but was still able to move and hunt. He was also happy to stay with the lioness and her cub, which gave them a better chance of survival.

After many months, they slowly gained back their strength, and the male felt he could do something not many others could do. He, the original pride leader, was going to win back his pride, see off the challenger, and look for his lost pride members. After a hearty meal of buffalo, they slept through the night and set off early next morning to the challenger’s and once his territory.

After a few hours of walking, stopping to drink water, and a few rests underneath trees, they reached the edge of the territory. The male raised himself up, and this time, it was his time to roar. Holding his head high, he stepped forwards, flanked by his lioness and his cub.

The two males growled. The lionesses were overjoyed to see their original leader, but feared for his life. This time, they didn’t back down, even though the fight was not theirs. They would watch their old leader defeat the challenger.

Once again, the two males reared up, and began to fight. But the male now had experience of the challenger’s tactics, so he could dodge most of the blows; then, it was him that gave the challenger the killer blow. The challenger was forced to back down, and he fled for his life, running into the sunset.

Although it took many months, the restored male found almost all of his lionesses except one, which had tragically been killed by hyenas. Though saddened by her death, the male lion established the land as his territory once more.

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