The Lion Guard: Fuli's Story

Chapter 1: Little Fuli

Three days have passed since Unina gave birth, and the mother cheetah was already on the move. Gently carrying her little infant cub in her mouth, she peeked outside of the underbrush at around dawn. Once sure that the coast was clear, Unina emerged from the den and set off on her way with her only surviving daughter. As for the rest of her stillborn littermates, Unina had buried them. Her heart still ached heavily with grief for her four children whom she'll never get to meet, but as much as it pained her to leave them behind, she knew that she couldn't stay in the old den forever, for the scent of newborn cheetah cubs would soon attract predators at any moment. Unina could still continue mourning the loss of her children, but that didn't mean that she should let anything happen to the only daughter she had left.

Unina strided out into the early morning savanna, pausing occasionally to sniff out any signs of nearby threats that were on the prowl. In her jaws, her little cub let out a confused high-pitched chirp, wondering why her mother was removing her from the comfort of their current den site and where she was taking her.

In just a few minutes, Unina finally found a new den site; a thick bush just fifteen meters away from the old spot. It was perfect to hide her cub, the canopy of leaves would provide shade from the bright sun and the prickly branches would provide extra security to deter any possible hunters from poking their noses around to seek out her baby girl. And the important thing was that the distance from this new den site and the previous was enough to diffuse her baby's scent.

Carefully, Unina lowered her daughter to the ground, making sure to place her in a spot within the shelter that was devoid of sharp branches. The little cheetah squeaked and chirped as she was placed in her new home, blindly squirming around in place. Unina would love nothing more than to snuggle up with her child again, but she knew that her day was far from over. With her cub secured, she must now go on a hunt in order to produce enough milk for her.

It's always a huge risk to leave a young infant female cub unattended for long. Unina's cub is still blind and helpless; her chances of vulnerability only increase the longer her mother is out. But it was a risk the cheetah mother is willing to take if she is going to keep her only surviving child alive.

"Mommy will be back soon, sweetie," Unina promised, giving her daughter a tender lick to her fuzzy head.

Without wasting any more time, Unina headed out again, leaving her defenseless cub in the bush. She began making her way out into the African savanna again. Eventually, she caught the scent of prey and tracked it all the way down into an open grassland. There, she noticed a herd of Thomson's gazelles grazing a couple tail-lengths away from where she was standing. Immediately, Unina crouched low on the ground so that the tall grass cloaked her tawny, spotted body, muscles tense and ready. She attentively observed the herd tranquilly munching away on the grass, unaware of the predator watching their every move. Unina then hoisted herself up a little more but not so much so she could remain hidden as she stalked closer to the gazelles.

She singled one that was standing more distant from the others. Its back was facing her as it grazed, occasionally it would raise its head along with its other companions, listening for any predator that could be lurking nearby this very moment. Luckily for Unina, they failed to detect her so they all carried on munching away at the grass. Unina held her breath as she froze each time the prey raised their heads before gradually creeping closer inch by inch when they were distracted again. Her targeted gazelle would occasionally walk further away from her path, so Unina had to adjust and move herself until she was near with her prey again. She stalked again, staying downwind, drawing closer to her target until she was practically right at its hooves.

Unina's nostrils flared at the tantalizing scent of her target, her mouth beginning to water a little. Bunching up her hind quarters, her tail flicked to the left once, then she pounced.