The Strongest Lion

Chapter 59 To be a lion, you must rely on yourself.

Chapter 59 To be a lion, you must rely on yourself

Lionesses tend to care more about their own cubs than other cubs.

When Mao Mao returned to the pride, the lions reacted differently. Some of the cubs quickly recognized Mao Mao and licked his fur to show their affection.

Some of the lion cubs roared at Mao Mao, as if they considered him an enemy.

Looking at everyone's expressions, Chu Ye felt that this was all normal. After all, Mao Mao had been missing for a week, and now that he had suddenly reappeared in front of everyone, everyone needed time to adjust.

The appearance of Mao Mao seemed to suddenly liven up the entire pride.

However, Mao Mao is finding it somewhat difficult to adjust to life with the lion pride. After all, it had spent a week with the baboons and had actually become quite comfortable there. Now that it's back with the lions, it's feeling a bit out of place.

Just as the other lion cubs were circling around Mao Mao, feeling very curious and puzzled, the male lion Jike returned from outside.

When the male lion Jike saw that there was a new lion cub in his pride, and that the cub seemed unfamiliar, he immediately pounced on Mao Mao and bit its neck.

This happened rather suddenly, and the other lion cubs were so frightened that they quickly ran to the side.

You see, Jike hadn't eaten for the past two days, and it was starving! Now that it suddenly saw a strange little lion, it wanted to treat the fur as a snack.

But how could Lisa let Jike eat Mao Mao? As soon as Lisa saw Jike bite Mao Mao, she suddenly pounced on the lion's neck and started biting.

When Jike saw that Lisa had stopped him from killing Momo, he let Momo go. Then, he sniffed Momo's scent again and finally recognized him.

Mao Mao was already terrified by the lion's earlier actions. It lay on the ground, motionless, as if it were dead.

Lisa was terrified, worried that the lion might have killed Mao Mao. So she quickly went over and touched Mao Mao's body with her nose, and Mao Mao stood up again.

Lisa was relieved to see that Mao Mao had stood up.

Actually, Jike's actions just now startled Chu Ye as well. He was also afraid that if the lion Jike killed Mao Mao, whom he had worked so hard to rescue, all his previous efforts would have been in vain.

If that were the case, Chu Ye would feel that what he did today wasn't saving Mao Mao, but rather harming it. Because if Mao Mao stayed with that female baboon, it wouldn't be in any immediate danger.

But now, Jike the lion's actions truly terrified Chu Ye. He also felt that Mao Mao was probably in grave danger. After all, the power of a lion is astonishing. A small lion is simply no match for it.

Fortunately, Mao Mao was alright, which put Chu Ye at ease.

It seems the lion wasn't really biting Mao Mao; it was just trying to scare him. If it had actually bitten him, Mao Mao would have been dead long ago.

After a false alarm, the Jike lion pride finally returned to calm.

At first, Mao Mao couldn't get accepted by the others. And it also struggled to adapt to the lion pride's environment. But soon, all these obstacles disappeared.

Mao Mao had already gotten to know everyone, and it remembered that it used to live in this same pride. The other lion cubs also recognized Mao Mao. The male lion, Jike, also recognized Mao Mao but ignored it.

And so, Mao Mao was able to live with her brothers, sisters, mother, and aunts again. The lion king, Jike, accepted Mao Mao, and everything in the pride returned to normal.

For Chu Ye, what he needs most right now is to maintain the harmony of this pride. He knows that as long as the pride continues to exist, he and the cubs can slowly grow up. When the cubs are all grown up, their pride will be one of the most powerful prides on the grasslands.

After the disappearance of Mao Mao and its subsequent discovery by Chu Ye, the Jike Lion Pride returned to a peaceful life.

The dry season wasn't over yet; in fact, it was at its worst. It hadn't rained on the prairie for two months. Some large puddles had shrunk into smaller ones, while others had turned into mud pits.

But this isn't the worst of it. In another month, even the mud pits will be gone. At that point, all the creatures in this place will have to migrate to the northern mountains and forests.

A few kilometers to the north, there is a river that never dries up. Animals living in the southern Serengeti are forced to migrate to the northern forests during the harshest dry season.

Chu Ye was quite aware of all this. He knew that during this period, he had to hunt more and not rely on the two lionesses to bring him much prey; he still had to rely on himself to hunt.

Only by hunting for yourself can you consistently feed yourself. Only by consistently feeding yourself can you grow up quickly.

In such a harsh season, some lion cubs cannot survive the dry season. If they are not strong enough to protect themselves, they are likely to perish before the dry season and be hunted down by other predators.

Chu Ye didn't want to become food for other predators, so it had to master the skills to protect itself and to hunt.

The ability to protect himself would allow Chu Ye to escape danger and survive.

The ability to hunt allows Chu Ye to eat its fill regularly, enabling it to grow taller and stronger. Only by becoming taller and stronger can it survive on this vast grassland.

In short, both of these abilities are key factors for the survival of all animals on the grasslands. They are both indispensable.

"I must hunt for myself; I can't expect the lionesses to bring me much food."

Chu Ye knew that the problem he faced was that he had to take care of himself, rather than relying on the two lionesses to hunt prey regularly to feed their cubs.

"Starting tomorrow, I will go out hunting every day, I will eat my fill every day, and I will become the strongest lion cub on the entire savanna."

Chu Ye secretly made up his mind. He knew he had to rely on himself to survive on this vast grassland. Only by relying on himself could he survive on this grassland. If he only wanted to rely on the lioness, he would eventually become food for other predators.

Early the next morning, Chu Ye got up again. He was going to hunt by himself. The two lionesses had failed to hunt again the night before, and the other cubs would naturally go hungry.

The two lionesses failed to hunt last night, so they went out hunting together again this morning.

The other lion cubs rested in the bushes; they didn't hunt themselves. They would only share some with the lionesses after they had caught prey.

These lion cubs are all over six months old and have basically been weaned. Actually, not weaning them isn't ideal either, because the two mother lions are often not getting enough to eat, and they won't produce any more milk.

Lion cubs are weaned after six months because lions typically give birth during the middle of the rainy season. These cubs receive plenty of milk during their first two months.

Because these two months are the rainy season on the savanna, the lionesses can often catch prey and are often well-fed, which naturally leads to a lot of milk production.

However, when the grasslands enter the dry season, the lionesses will not have enough to eat, and if they are not well-fed, they will produce less and less milk.

So, when the lion cubs were about six months old, they had to be weaned. For the rest of their lives, the cubs were forced to start eating meat.

The eight lion cubs that Chu Ye and his companions are now over six months old and have basically been weaned.

Weaned lion cubs need to eat fresh meat regularly. Only in this way can they grow up healthily. If lion cubs are often hungry, they cannot grow up healthily. Because their bodies are constantly in a state of malnutrition, how can they possibly grow healthily?

Chu Ye was well aware of all this. He knew that once the lion cubs were weaned, they would have to rely entirely on meat for survival. If they could eat meat regularly, they would naturally grow up healthy. But if they didn't get meat often, they would suffer from malnutrition and wouldn't be able to grow up healthily.

"I must eat meat often. Only by eating meat often can I grow up healthy. Only by eating meat often can I grow taller than the other lion cubs and become the leader among them."

Chu Ye knew that if he wanted to become the strongest lion cub among them, he had to start by eating meat. Only by eating meat regularly could he grow up healthily; if he was often hungry, there was no point in talking about healthy growth.

The sun had just risen, and the temperature on the prairie was still low. It was the perfect time to go hunting. Lisa and Aisha had failed to hunt last night, so they set off again this morning.

The other lion cubs were resting in the bushes. The male lion, Jik, was the same; he was rather lazy and didn't help his wife hunt.

Of course, it might also want to take care of these lion cubs. After all, these lion cubs are a delicious meal for many carnivores.

Chu Ye knew that from now on he had to rely on himself. Just as a person must rely on themselves, so too must a lion.