The huge cat silently walked through the forest, his orange and black stripes camouflaged his body amongst the trees and plants. He was out on the prowl and keeping a look out for any rogue males who may wish to kill his young cubs and take his female as their own. He stopped suddenly in mid stride, holding a paw up, to not make a sound. A loud bang echoed in the distance, making his ears swivel forwards. He lifted his head slightly and sensed the air, but he couldn't smell anything out of the norm. He slowly placed his huge paw back down on the leaf littered ground and continued on his way.
Monkeys howled out from the trees in warning to their families that a tiger was nearby. The tiger ignored their shrieks and headed to a nearby pool of water. He gently crouched down on his limbs and lapped up the cool refreshing liquid, making sure to keep his ears alert and his eyes firmly on his surroundings. A deep roar sounded out in the forest, causing the tiger to snap his head up and growl deep in his throat. He listened as the roar grew louder and more threatening, no doubt it was a male wishing to challenge anyone nearby.
The tiger lifted his mighty head and roared back in warning. This was his territory and he wasn't willing to lose it to a hot headed tiger, that couldn't find a territory of it's own. After he was satisfied that his warning had done the trick, he padded away from the pool and headed back towards the cave that his family were keeping safe in.
He pushed his way through bushes and shrubbery until he reached the cave. It was in a secluded part of the forest and had a safe outside area for his cubs to play and learn vital hunting skills. He walked into the dimly lit cave and chuffed lightly to his female. She lifted up her head from where she lay and looked at her mate with slitted eyes.
The tiger padded towards his female and she pulled herself up from the cave floor, sending her three cubs tumbling away from where they were happily suckling. The mates moved towards one another and affectionately banged their heads in greeting, chuffing as they did so. The smallest of their cubs, a male let out a growl which resembled a cat's meow, catching his mother's attention. The female tiger wandered back over to her cubs.
The male watched his cubs contentedly as they happily played with one another. His female kept a close eye on them to make sure they didn't play too rough and if they did she was sure to discipline them. The male wasn't known to be too involved with his cubs, his job was too protect them from the dangers of the forest and he was happy to do so.
A bang which sounded the same as the one the tiger had heard earlier, rang out from outside of the cave. The female looked over at him with wide worried eyes and he looked back at her knowingly. He had to find the source of the sound to keep his family safe. He turned on his heel and hurried out of the cave and headed in the direction the sound was coming from. After about half a mile of travelling through the forest, he stopped as he stumbled upon a clearing in the forest. It contained no trees and no plants, it was just a wide stretch of dusty flooring, which seemed to go straight through the forest.
The tiger bent his head to the floor and sniffed deeply, taking in the scents of other animals which had been there. He quickly pulled his head back up as he smelt a familiar smell of burning rubber. He remembered that he had smelt that smell just once before, it was when he was just a young adolescent. He had stumbled upon a village of strange two legged animals, which had no fur covering their bodies. Then he remembered that he had heard that bang sound before. An image of a tiger flashed through his mind, it was lying on the floor still and unmoving, with a bloodied hole in its side. It was gun fire.
Another shot fired, but this time it came from the direction of his home. He quickly span around and back into the forest; the sounds of the forest flowed through his ears, but he ignored them as he slinked through the trees and plants. Soon he had reached his home, but he stopped in a bush and crouched low to the ground as he watched the two legged animals come out of the cave.
His eyes went wide with shock, fear and anger. He watched as his female was carried out, her body was strewn across a stretcher. He dug his claws into the soil beneath his paws, wishing that he could run out to the two legs and rip them to pieces. But even though they had no claws and no sharp teeth, the tiger knew they had weapons that could kill even the most powerful of animals. The two legs carried away the tiger's mate. Her body was limp and her eyes were wide with distant fear.
The tiger sighed as his precious female was taken deep into the forest and out of his sight. He didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. He slowly lumbered out of the bush he was hiding in and went into the cave. He suddenly stopped as he gazed upon a tiny body lying on the floor in front of him. He bent his head down and nuzzled his nose into his son's soft fur, trying desperately to wake the little bundle from his permanent sleep. But it was no use, it was too late to save his son. He was gone forever.
The tiger looked up as he heard a small cry and his eyes rested on his two other cubs. They had hidden under a rock and had been saved. He hurried over to them and rubbed his head affectionately against their fragile bodies. He sat back on his haunches and his cubs buried themselves into the fur of his muscular chest. He sighed as he looked to the ceiling of the cave, how was he going to keep his cubs alive? They would have no milk, no one to keep them safe when he goes out to hunt and no love of a mother.
The tiger knew deep down that his babies were going to die; but he was going to do all he could to make the rest of their short lives as comfortable as possible. He slowly laid down onto the cold cave flooring and pulled his cubs in tightly to his chest. He watched them as their sleepy eyes slowly fell shut and his own eyes soon followed. This would be the last night he would have with them, as their spirits would soon be running free, with their brother and mother.
The End
