Chapter Fifteen: The Hyena Attack

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Chapter Fifteen: The Hyenas Attack

The same was true of hyenas. They tolerated other animals moving through their territory, but lions were the exception.

In that respect, lions and hyenas were truly sworn enemies.

Whenever lions encountered hyenas, they would attack. Even after killing them, they generally would not eat them.

Perhaps hyena meat simply tasted terrible. Of course, it was also possible that the lions were not hungry.

Whenever a clan of hyenas came across lionesses that had brought down prey, they would move in to steal it. As long as no male lion was present, the hyenas paid the lionesses no heed.

When Chu Ye saw a dozen or so hyenas prowling along the boundary of their pride’s territory, he knew they could not have good intentions. They were surely setting their sights on Jike’s pride.

Generally speaking, hyenas posed the greatest threat to young lions. This was perhaps because lions and hyenas had a never-ending history of grudges and bloodshed.

Chu Ye was familiar with these facts. The moment he saw the pack moving through their territory, he knew those creatures must have some ulterior motive.

“Damn, are these despicable scavengers planning to come after us cubs?” With his human way of thinking, Chu Ye easily understood the hyenas’ intentions.

In fact, the hyenas were indeed plotting against Jike’s pride.

They had no intention of hunting adult lions. Their targets were the cubs.

Ordinarily, during the rainy season, hyenas did not ambush lion cubs, because there was plenty of other prey available.

The dry season was different. With food in short supply, hyenas were forced to take risks and hunt the young of other animals.

Lion cubs were among the hyenas’ favorite delicacies. During the dry season, large numbers of cubs were devoured by hyenas.

The leader of this clan was Nila, a highly experienced female hyena who had ruled the group for two or three years.

Queen Nila was now leading more than a dozen members of her clan along the boundary of Jike’s territory, carefully observing the pride.

After several days of scouting, Nila had learned that the pride was not particularly strong. It consisted of only one male lion and two lionesses.

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Not only was the pride weak, it was also raising ten cubs.

All ten were just over three months old and possessed no fighting ability whatsoever.

Once Nila discovered this, she felt that the pride was worth attempting to ambush. If they succeeded, the ten lion cubs would become a sumptuous feast for the hyenas.

However, as long as the male lion remained with his cubs, the hyenas did not dare act recklessly.

Hyenas were formidable enough to challenge lions—but only lionesses. When it came to male lions, they usually kept their distance and were unwilling to engage them head-on.

Generally speaking, as long as a male lion remained at home to protect the cubs, the young lions were relatively safe.

Even after seeing that this pride had so many cubs, the Hyena Queen still would not dare lead her pack in to steal them.

But if the male lion was absent, the hyenas would seize the opportunity to snatch the cubs.

Now that Chu Ye had discovered the hyenas scouting along the territorial boundary, he felt a trace of unease. These hyenas were nothing like male lions. When a male lion came, it was usually to challenge the pride’s ruler. The cubs were not its direct target.

After seizing power, a male lion killed the cubs not to eat them, but to force the lionesses to bear his own offspring.

Thus, a lone wandering male lion might pose less of a threat to a pride than an entire clan of hyenas.

As Chu Ye watched the furtive hyenas, he sensed an ominous atmosphere settling over the cubs of Jike’s pride.

He desperately wanted to tell Jike what he suspected, but he had no way to communicate with the male lion. All Chu Ye could do was watch and wait while considering how to deal with the hateful hyenas.

“Wait! Can’t I use the killer bees? Why not use them against these despicable hyenas?” Chu Ye suddenly remembered the trick he had used before.

“I managed to drive away a huge male lion with killer bees. Surely I can deal with this pack of mangy dogs!”

Chu Ye thought he could repeat the same tactic and use the killer bees against the loathsome hyenas.

Of course, he was making things far too simple. Hyenas were known as Africa’s second-in-command for a reason. That reputation was not undeserved.

The following day, the weather was just as fine. During the dry season, cloudy and rainy days were rare.

It was now the dry season, and male lions frequently invaded during the day. That morning, while the weather was still cool, Jike planned to patrol the southern part of his territory.

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The recent invasions by male lions had all come from the south.

Chu Ye and the other cubs ran back and forth beneath the great tree.

The cubs cared nothing for whether it was the dry season or the rainy season. As far as they were concerned, every day consisted of nursing, eating a little unpleasant meat, and playing.

The two lionesses had at least succeeded in hunting the previous night, catching an adult impala. The three adult lions in the pride had enjoyed a hearty meal, and the ten cubs had also been allowed a taste of mutton.

Lisa and Aisha lay beneath the tree, resting. A group of cubs frolicked around them, creating a scene of perfect warmth and tenderness.

Even Chu Ye felt happy. He rubbed himself back and forth against Lisa, basking in the warmth of a mother’s love, and found himself in remarkably good spirits.

“Woooo! Woooo!”

Suddenly, a sharp animal cry rang out from the northern edge of the territory.

The moment Lisa and Aisha heard it, they sprang to their feet and stared tensely toward the northern boundary.

Chu Ye reacted the same way. The instant he heard the cry, he became alert.

The nine other cubs, however, continued leaping about. To them, the cry seemed to have nothing to do with them at all.

As soon as he heard it, Chu Ye scrambled rapidly up the tree and gazed toward the north. The sight made his eyes widen in shock.

A clan of spotted hyenas was charging in from the northern edge of the territory—seventeen or eighteen of them, by the look of it. Led by a powerful female, they were racing straight toward Chu Ye and the others.

Clearly, the hyenas had come prepared. They had noticed that Jike, the pride’s ruler, was not present and had decided to ambush this weak pride.

The leader of the clan was none other than Nila. After several days of observation, she had learned a great deal about the pride’s situation.