Thornton Burgess wrote many children's books
about Sammy Jay, Paddy the Beaver, Reddy Fox, Peter Cottontail, etc.
Exciting to read, they relayed everyday existences...their friends
...their foes.
Sharing
our planet with animals, birds, insects, fish and reptiles, I had an
inane idea of creating life situations among our winged, finned and
4-footed inhabitants. With an active mind, imagination and research,
I penned a prose-like-first-writing that I title Pride
Onset.
Once upon a time in Nature's Era,
beasts, birds and creepy crawlers on planet, dwelt.
Like Adam and Eve, humans knew not their purpose;
Mother Nature, thus arranged a 'gathering.'
“Mate,
you must ~ and multiply ~ to increase your breed.
I've supplied you with water and plenty of food
in sea-water, on land and in high trees.
Search
and Ye shall find ~ advises
my God.”
But Lionel questioned, “How do we Mate?”
(so colouful the birds ~ and tawny 4-leggeds.)
And in the river, are fish and piranah-killers?
“Be
not in a rush, Dear Lionel:
A female may 'scent you'
desiring attention.
You have a mighty 'bod' and flowing, gorgeous mane;
and you proudly strut with 'animal appeal.'
This tropical land is yours to explore ~
and you'll find a 'steppe' or a'savanna'
where the buffalo roam.
“Meat
for the day ~ said a superior male.
“My
advice to you ~ Young Lionel?
“Hone
your skill to best of your ability
and with confidence, proudly make your kill!”
With intelligent brain, Lionel mused,
(to impress a Female, Brave I Must Be!)
He
trod through the forest to the high open steppe
and there awaited the buffalo herd.
He got 'in the chase' but was outrun!
(From its Mom, a calf lagged behind ~
on the chase again, he snagged the weakening calf)
amd Bravo for Him ~ Dinner Plus!
The smell upon him, as he returned to the 'pride'
betold his success 'with pride-all-honour.'
A young female, sauntering close, roused his desires.
She 'scented' him ~ and with sexual arousement
(and as Mother Nature predicted), knowingly he knew
they must do sometuing together.!
She
called him Lion
~ and
he tenderly named her Ness!
Their paradise flourished with abundance of growth.
The forests, so tall, reached to the sky ~
Habitat for Wildebeasts, Buffalo, Deer ~
and sometimes Zebra, Impala and Gnu.
Streams and rivers flowed gently to sea ~
“What
more?, exclaimed
Lion, for
a beautiful life!”
Fulfilling his dream, did Ness, of this bountiful land!
Small prey, together they hunted
and carried by mouth, home to their cubs.
Ness, with female instinct and healthy cubs,
convinced
Lion
that Pride Females
(without manes reducing body heat)
be involved 'in the hunt' and at 'the kill', all would be fed.
The females excelled as avid hunters.
Lion
established a hierarchy of feeding:
The Lion would take his share of the meat; next the females
involved in the hunt.
The rest for the females of lesser rank and for the cubs at home.
Lion determined, that on future hunts,
he'd look for the young...for the weak...even elderly
for easier risk of injury in 'the hunt' process.
As the sun splayed golden rays on the horizon's blue sea,
Lion,
in wonderment, mused:
“What an Awesome World!”
Composed by Merle Baird-Kerr...June 3, 2018
(# 1 in my Regime of Animal Life)
Notation:
Lions are the only Cats which have a close-knit social group ~ and
the one cat species that regularly hunts in groups. Occasionally
they hunt larger species: giraffes, hippos and young elephants.
Living in a 'pride' reduces losses of kills to the hungry hyenas.
In South Africa, are several Lion Hunting Safaris...e.g.
The Serengeti and wooded areas like Kruger National Park.
Canada is fortunate to have one of the largest packs of Mountain
Lions.
Naturally,
we have good populations of lynx, bobcat and wolf ....
and our new species is the Coywolf!
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