Chapter 58 - Storing Water
In the evening.
The female lions had returned from hunting.
However, they still found nothing.
In the morning, they had already gone out for a while and returned empty-handed.
In the afternoon, they set off against the hot sun again. They only returned now, but they still did not catch any prey.
The prey on the gra.s.sland was getting fewer and fewer.
They had traveled a long distance but ultimately did not bring back anything.
The cold father lay in the shade of the bushes and looked at them coldly before continuing to sleep with his eyes narrowed.
He was so hot that he felt uncomfortable and did not want to move.
Lars woke up from his sleep but did not see any prey and was very disappointed.
He felt that the female lions were becoming more and more useless.
The pregnant Callie and Maya lay in the shade and looked at the three sisters, also disappointed.
They needed a lot of food to fill their hunger during pregnancy.
The three female lions that had returned from hunting were hungry and thirsty. They were in a hurry to replenish their water.
They wanted to drink water by the river.
However, the lion, the cold father, did not have the intention to stand up and go with them.
Callie and Maya also lay in the bushes and closed their eyes.
They had been staying here all this time, avoiding the scorching sun. They did not move at all, so they were not too thirsty.
Callie and Maya were pregnant, and the mane on the cold father was too thick.
The weather was too hot.
None of them wanted to move.
Furthermore, the three female lions did not bring back any prey.
They seemed to be a little resentful.
Aisha, Xi"er, and the lioness with a broken tail looked at each other. They could only turn around silently and prepare to go to the river.
Little Curly Tail and Mei Mei ran over and let out cries.
They wanted to go too.
However, they seemed to be telling their mothers to wait.
Their brother went to the bushes at the back and stopped their tailing sternly.
He must have gone to p.o.o.p.
Because every time his brother went to p.o.o.p, he would not let them follow him. Every time he p.o.o.ped, he would use his claws to dig a hole. After p.o.o.ping, he would use the soil to bury his p.o.o.p.
At first, they did not understand and even mocked their brother.
Until one day, they accidentally smelled their brother"s stench. Then, they understood.
They were very grateful for their brother"s actions.
Therefore, every time his brother expressed that he wanted to go and p.o.o.p, they would never tail him and even take the initiative to stay far away.
They were really afraid.
At this moment.
In the bushes at the back.
Chu Xiaoye was following the borders marked by the Seno Brothers and looking for the black objects left behind last night.
However, the situation was extremely strange.
Those things actually disappeared without a trace. Furthermore, not a trace or smell was left.
What was it that could wipe out those things that could even make a lion flee in fear?
Could it be hyenas or wild dogs?
It was understandable for a dog to eat s.h.i.t.
However, he did not feel that the things he left behind were objects that a dog could swallow.
They were the abandoned substances in his body and the dregs left behind in the fresh meat he ate every day.
There might even be other unknown substances.
It was also possible that dung beetles ate them.
Those things were not afraid of the stench. They liked things with strong tastes.
Forget it. Since they had already been cleared, he did not need to trouble himself anymore.
He had planned to come and bury it.
After all, those objects did not have much power after a day of sun exposure.
The Seno brothers" pride had already learned their lesson and should not approach this terrifying forest again.
They would never have thought that this terrifying thing was actually p.o.o.ped out by their own kind.
Perhaps they thought that there was some extremely venomous creature hiding in this forest.
Anyway, they did not lack this territory. There was no need to risk vomiting or falling unconscious again.
After all, food was not easy to come by, and what they spat out might not be able to be eaten again.
"Bam!"
From the bushes behind him, there was a small noise, as if something was stepping on a dry branch.
Chu Xiaoye did not look back. He crossed the border and wandered for a while in the bushes s.n.a.t.c.hed away by the Seno brothers" pride before returning to the camp.
Seeing that he had left, Catherine hurriedly crawled out of the bushes and followed him.
The three female lions were waiting anxiously. Seeing that he had finally returned, they immediately prepared to set off.
Chu Xiaoye called out to them to wait a while more. Then, he quickly climbed up the Baobab tree and took out a white thing that looked like an animal"s internal organs from the storage room.
It was the bladder of a gnu.
Although it looked deflated, it was comparable to a balloon when blown and could store a lot of water.
He did not collect much, only five.
Of course, there were also the bladders of other prey, but they were relatively small and could not store much water.
He took out this larger bladder mainly to transport water.
He had already thought of a place to store water.
However, he was not certain if it would work.
The tree trunk under the two Baobab trees was extremely thick, like two giant water tanks.
One night, when he was practising his skills on a branch, his sharp claws pierced into the bark and he immediately felt a trace of moisture.
Then, he realized that although the Baobab tree, whose leaves had fallen too early, seemed to be lacking water and withered on the surface, there was actually a lot of water stored in its body.
Its wood was extremely loose, like a sponge. It absorbed a lot of water and its bark looked dry and rough, but it could seal the water and prevent it from evaporating.
If he emptied it from the middle, injected water into it, and stored it, he should be able to store it for a long time.
Of course, in order to maintain the survival rate of the tree and prevent the water from evaporating, he could not dig too much of the s.p.a.ce in the middle.
The trunks of the two Baobab trees were extremely thick and tall. Even if they only took out a little s.p.a.ce, the amount of water stored was definitely enough for the pride to survive the entire dry season.
Over the past few days, Chu Xiaoye had been standing on the first branch of the Baobab tree and trying to empty it from the middle with his claws. It was surprisingly easy to dig.
The loose wood contained water. He did not need to use much strength to dig out a small s.p.a.ce.
He decided to bring back some water and try putting it in.
If the effect was good, he would immediately take action and crawl into the hole to continue digging like he was digging a well.
As for the manhole cover, he had thought of it too.
He placed the wooden dregs he took out into the skin of a warthog. When it was full, he would sprinkle some water in it and step on it to make a cork that could be stuffed into the hole.
Even if he did not step on it too tightly, it was okay. He still had many animal skins to use. When the time came, he would block all of them at the mouth of the cave to prevent the water from evaporating from them.
To successfully survive the first dry season of lion life, he had no choice but to make these preparations in advance.
Every dry season would be a cruel and merciless elimination.
Only the most tenacious life would have a chance to survive.
As for him, perhaps he was not as tenacious as other lives, but he had the courage to live and the wisdom of humans.
He would use these to lead the pride to continue living strongly!