Men are Stronger than Women

Originally, it had been a pleasant morning. When the sun rose over the horizon of the savannah, the creatures awoke with her, prepared for another routinely day. Insects scurried about the hard, dried land, and the grass, which had not seen rain in months, seemed to look more brown and dead than usual. Now, as the day went on, the shy clouds had turned into an enraged sky of ash. The many animals that roamed this plain, were getting anxious. Hairs began to stick straight up on their backs as the slight breeze swayed the occasional brush. Something was coming and none of them were prepared for it.

The pride that dominated this area of the savannah was very hungry. Most days, the hunters would go out at dawn to ring in their prey for the rest of the pride to feast upon. Today the group was running late due to a lioness giving birth to her cubs. She was the best hunter they had and without her, their bounty was significantly less. The rest of the females waited patiently for her and as soon as her cubs were in the care of the pride, the lioness’ were on their way.

They sauntered across the land gallantly. Their bodies were elegant and graceful, yet when making their kill, they were vicious and merciless. Their kills were not personal. In fact, they had been acquaintances with many of the folk who wandered their land. They would snarl a “hello” here and there on their way to the hunting grounds. Most other species had been accepting and understanding towards them. It had been known that the males were not cut out for hunting and it was the lioness’ job to keep the pride healthy and alive.

The wildebeest however, could never really grasp this concept. They were angry at the lions. They believed that the weak, fragile females should stay and tend to the cubs while the big, strong males hunted and provided for the pride. 

“Women are simply not cut out for a man’s work,” they would say. 

They viewed the lions’ way of life as wrong and untraditional. The wildebeest had such fragile egos that when being hunted, they would often flee, leaving their young to be victims of the lioness’ jaws. 

This was not the case today. 

“We should hurry.” A lioness shouted over the pounding of thunder in the distance. 

The hunters picked up their speed until they reached the herd of wildebeest. They liked to prey on the wildebeest. They were often stupid and careless in their actions allowing the hunters to make a quick and easy kill. Gazelle were fast and dodgy, and even they could understand what the circle of life was, and where their place was in this chain.

The lightning and thunder gave the hunters an advantage today. The thunder provided more cover, as their giant paws could often be heard by even the smallest calf. The lightning caused a distraction, and well, rain was coming soon. It would get slippery and the wildebeest were not made to run in the rain. 

The lioness’ planned their attack while they waited calmly for the first raindrop to fall. They worked as a team. They supported each other and came out as a team in order to be stronger. This was another thing the wildebeest didn’t like about the lions. They are very closed-minded and do not understand how to work together, instead of just working for one’s sole interest.

“I think we should go for a bigger kill today.” One lioness said.

“I agree,” another chimed in. She lifted her head to scan the herd in search of a suitable victim. “I say we go for the meaty one. To the right a little bit, not far in.”

“I like it. He will have difficulty running and we can catch him off guard. I recognize him as well. He is always giving us trouble for something or another. I think it will be beneficial to finally get him off our backs.” This was the same lioness that had given birth only hours earlier.

They continued reviewing their attack plan as the angry clouds rolled in across the plain. Finally, a bright bolt of lightning cracked swiftly across the sky and the drumming of thunder came almost directly after. A single raindrop fell in the circle of hunters and they all glanced at each other preparing themselves for the fight ahead. 

After the first raindrop, it seemed to be like a tsunami sweeping through the savannah. The youngest of the calves had never seen rain before and were having a field day rolling in the mud while the older mammals failed in trying to control them. 

The hunters approached tentatively and split up in order to trap the bigger wildebeest in the mud pit not ten feet from him, as specified by their thorough plan of attack: The lioness would come at the herd from all sides. The hunters coming in from the right would come faster and harder to force him onto the slippery ground. The ones coming in from the left were precautionary, in case he ended up somehow making it through that mess of a puddle. Finally after they had had him trapped on the slippery ground from all sides, their best hunter would make the final kill, and they would drag his remains back to the pride after the rain stopped.

Everyone was in their place and the time had come. 

BOOM. 

The strike of lightning and the crack of thunder that signaled the attack. The lioness leaped from the brush and charged at the herd. The panicked wildebeest ran in all sorts of ways. They seemed to be going in every direction, but this did not deter the hunters from their goal. 

They executed their plan perfectly, without a flaw. Not a single mistake was made. The troublesome wildebeest was successfully caught in the pile of mud and grass that had actually accumulated even more during the hustle and bustle of the attempted escape. 

“Please!” he pleaded for his life. “I didn’t mean any of those things I said. Not one bit! I was just joking. They never meant anything. Not really!”

The Lioness laughed out loud at his praying. He was literally begging for his life with lies and it was captivating, the way this enormous creature so plainly displayed his cowardice.

He must have been fatter than all of them combined! They had actually underestimated his size, and yet here he was: urging them to spare his life when not ten minutes ago he would have cackled in their face if someone told him he would die by a lioness.

The hunters waited until the rest of the wildebeest were watching intently, wondering what this individual's fate would end up to be. The hunter’s decided that this would be the turning point. This kill would signify that they were powerful and should not be regarded as weak, or fragile, or delicate, ever again. They dragged out his death, made him suffer, made him know who they were and what they were capable of. They made all of the wildebeest know. 

The lioness ripped this misguided wildebeest apart, limb by limb, and dragged him past the onlookers proudly. The wildebeest watched in awe, and many of them would never speak poorly of the lioness again. How could they after witnessing such an incredible kill?