2007/5/12
     I watched a documentary program about a lioness 'kidnapped' a newborn gazelle which had not yet sucked a drop of its mother’s milk. The newborn gazelle stumbled about and was forced by the lioness away from the gazelle herd where its mother belonged to. Though it seemed the lioness had 'adopted' the cub gazelle, I could not help expecting to see it become a corpse when the camera showed the sun gradually rose from the horizon in the next morning. To my surprise, the cub gazelle walked around the lioness which was lying around under a tree. The cub gazelle’s gait was much steadier than the previous day. The film was taken by a female zoologist who found the unnatural event and shot every movement of the bizarre scene. I got worried when the next night was drawing down and the zoologist spoke aside that the cub had not drunk a drop of water. Though I was surprised with joy to see that the cub gazelle was alive on the third day, I knew it would die of dehydration very soon as the camera shot at the burning sun. I really hoped the cub gazelle would approach the lioness and suck her nipples, though I know the lioness did not give birth then and would not excrete milk. I was desperate when the film was showing the fourth day of the adoption. I hoped the zoologist or her cameramen could get a bottle of milk and try to feed the cub gazelle.
     The zoologist showed the video to the villagers, which really caused a commotion. A lot of villagers were attracted by the video. They interpreted it as a sign of ‘God is coming’. They gathered and followed the zoologist to witness the wonder. They were all astonished and amused when they viewed the unbelievable scene. As soon as the villagers watched the scene some began to predict the imminent death of the cub. It had not eaten or drunk anything for five days. I expected some of them would come up to feed the cub, but the zoologist did not agree with the idea of acting against nature. The lioness did not eat anything, either. She had to keep an eye on the cub and she had no time to hunt. I found the lioness was obviously thinner than it was on the 8th day of the adoption.
     Seeing is believing. I would never believe there was such a kind of thing without watching the program. I was glad to see the lioness lead the cub gazelle to a river bank to drink. There were several kinds of predators also drinking on the river bank, but the cub gazelle could drink without guard because it was well protected by the lioness. I kept wondering what the outcome would be. Would I see the cub gazelle wear down and die? Would the cub’s mother suddenly appear and rescue it? Would the zoologist change her mind and hand the cub to the animal protectionists? As the film was telling its 15th-day story and the camera was focusing on the lioness, a weak and miserable sound was heard from the cub gazelle. The camera was quickly turned to the cub gazelle. Its weak body was hanging in the mouth of a giant lion. It was still alive. As the lion walked away with the miserable baa of the cub gazelle, the lioness followed hesitantly far behind. The next day the lioness hunted a wild boar and had her first meal in the 16 days. During the following year, the lioness adopted another 5 cub gazelles. Two of them died, two escaped and one was rescued by the cub’s mother.
Hong CJ