Lion King What If

Inspire by this drawing that I found one day when I got bored and wrote this.

noweia/art/Vets-to-the-rescue-64860049

I was on a lab safari in Africa for my college zoology class. Myself and three other students were surveying a herd of wildebeests noting behaviors and counting how many pregnant cows we could find. The calving season would start soon so the babies would be arriving soon. Which I was very much looking forward to seeing, as well as the other classmates.

It was getting closer to three o'clock when we were to switch groups and head back to base camp to refresh our water and get some food. I started to pack my notes, and camera when I noticed some of the wildebeests start to get frigidity. I had grown up around cattle and recognized the starting of a stamped.

"Stamped," I yelled out. Not two seconds later the whole herd started running in our groups direction. We were able to move out of the way of the herd, but my notes and pens weren't so lucky. While everyone else rushed to behind some rocks and the groups Jeep I saw a perfect time to film the stamped. I laid down on my stomach pulling out my camera from my pocket. Taking a few photos before switching it to video. Filming the stamped that was just barely five feet from my face.

I barely heard the voices of my classmates and teacher calling my name through the thundering of hooves. I continued filming on my stomach, as the herd was nearing it's last members I noticed what had spooked the wildebeest. A group of three hyenas were chasing the beasts. One female and two males snapping their jaws at them but not biting.

'Weird,' I thought and focused my camera on the hyenas.

"They aren't even hunting," I said out loud to the camera though my voice was muffled by the fading out Hoffman stomps, "If I didn't know better it looks like they are herding them."

I laid perfectly still as the herd ended and as one of the hyenas ran over my back. The wildebeest ran into a near by gorge and the hyenas stopped chasing them. They hadn't noticed my group or my self even though one of them had ran me over and I was pretty positive I had paw tracks on my yellow jacket and my back pack. That or they hadn't cared about us cause they left the area.

I rolled onto my back staring up as the dust rolled by. I coughed as the dust powdered onto my face and body, then I started laughing at my close encounter with death five seconds ago.

'My mom is so going to kill me when I get home' I laughed in my head.

"Did you see that," I yelled to the others sitting up, "Did you all see that?"

"Did you get it," one of my friends Nicky called back as she ran up to me, "If it ain't on camera it didn't happen."

"Hell yeah I got it," I called back holding up my camera, "Hey professor can I get extra credit for this?"

We both started cheering and laughing, "Girl you are bloody crazy!"

"Child do you have a death wish," one of the other students said to me as we walked back to the Jeep.

"I have no idea but that was one Hell of a rush. I'm still shaking."

"You're shaking," Nicky said punching my arm, "I'm pretty sure you gave our professor a heart attack."

"Very nearly," our professor called out. His hand over his heart and was taking deep breaths. I chuckles a little before turning back to my friend.

"Did you see those hyenas back there," I asked.

"Yeah why?"

"Weren't they acting strange to you?"

"No they were hunting. Weren't they?"

"That's it they weren't," I said showing her the photos and video I took of the hyenas, "That's not a normal hunting pattern. You can see almost three times an easy pick arrived yet they didn't take any. They just kept herding them towards the gorge."

"And there is only three of them. If they had been hunting they would have separated a weaker one from the herd or gone after something smaller like a gazelle. These are way to big to be a three hyena job.

"Uh…you're right," Nicky said watching the film, "Lets bring this back to camp maybe someone else can explain what's going on with these guys."

We started to get ready to leave when I heard a loud roar echo out of the gorge. I recognized it as a lions roar. Ignoring the protests from my teacher I went to the edge of the gorge and saw a large male lion fall into the stampede. Dust clouded my vision but I saw him land on a tree breaking the tree. I gasped at the sight then started to climb down the gorge.

"Michelle what the Hell are you doing," Nicky and half my group yelled.

"I'm getting a closer look," I called back close to being halfway down. I had found a smoothed out path from the stampede so I was mostly sliding down the gorge dragging a big rock with me as a way of controlling my speed without cutting up my hand.

"Are you crazy," Nicky yelled.

I made it to the bottom yelling back to her before running after where I saw the lion fall, "You bet your sweet ass I am!"

The dust was beginning to settle down as I made my way through the gorge. It was eerily quite and my soft steps didn't help the feeling, as the dust settled more I had a better view of the area. Looking around around I saw a broken tree with a dark mass lying next to it. Taking a closer look I saw it was the lion I had seen fall earlier.

Husling to his side I checked over the lions body. He had cuts and bruises all over his body. His tail was bent at a near 90 degree angle, and I was sure his back leg was broken. I sighed deeply as I kneeled to the great beast. I felt his chest and back. Three broken ribs and a broken spinal bone. I doubted he would still be alive after all that but I wanted to be sure. Taking off my back pack that now had a dirt paw print on it, I took out the medic pack my mom had packed for me before I left for Africa. It was like a smaller trauma kit complete with a stethoscope, anti-bacteria wipes, small bottle of rubbing alcohol, gloves, surgical scissors, needle with thread, a scapula, morphine needle, and a travel bottle of Tylenol.

"Thank you mom," I said as I took out the stethoscope listening to the lions chest silently hoping to hear a heart beat. After what felt like an eternity slowed to a crawl I heard the thump of a heart beat, a moment later another and another. I then checked his breathing, it was faint but showed no signs of a punctured lung, or any internal bleeding. I felt along his body noting that he had several fractured and broken bones but other than that no life threading injuries that couldn't be fixed.

"You are one lucky cat my friend," I said, "Though I think you used one or two of your nine lives in the process. But your luck has not yet run out. I should be able to help you. I hope."

I quickly got to work categorizing what I needed for each wound and what wounds I could treat now and what needed to be treated at base camp. Pulling out my radio I called our base camp for back up, "Michelle to base camp do you copy?"

"Base camp to Michelle we copy you," the radio squealed out.

"Base camp I've got an injured male lion a hundred kliks from your location. Injuries include several broken bones, cuts, and bruises all over the body. I have a small trauma kit and will do what I can but there are more injuries that I can't see and tend."

"We are sending a med team to your area now are there any others injured?"

"No others found."

"Alright med team ETA 10 minutes."

"Roger that over and out."

I set the radio down next to me and started working to clean the larger bleeding cuts on the lions body. Cutting the fur around the wounds that are deeper and will need stitches. I was sterilizing my needles when Nicky appeared.

"Wow," she said looking over the lion, "Is he still alive."

"Yes but very weak," I said stitching the wound, "I called the camp for back up. ETA is ten minutes. He has a few broken bones. I can set he leg and tail but the others I'm not sure were the other damage is."

"What can I do," she asked.

I opened my mouth to tell her what I needed her to do we both heard growls and barks several feet behind us. I looked to were the growls were coming from to see three hyenas chasing a small lion cub. Seeing the little cub running for his life I was over come with the need to protect him. I quickly grabbed a large rock that was next to me, as well as a large bag of Anguis Teriyaki Beef Jerky, that I had packed for a return-to-camp snack, sprinting after the animals ripping open the bag of jerky as I ran.

The lion cub ran into a small crack in the canyon wall. Escaping the hyenas but also trapping himself. I took that moment as my chance to act, I throw the rock I had at the lead hyena smacking her in the hindquarters. This caused all of them to turn and face me. I grabbed a few pieces of jerky throwing it towards them. They sniffed the jerky before devouring all of it. I got their attention now all I needed was to get it away from this area. Shaking the bag to show them more food before I chucked the bag as hard and as far as I could away from the area. Which was able to fly a good distance before the hyenas pounced of the bag tearing it open and began devouring the contents of the bag.

I dashed to the crack that the cub was stuck in. He wasn't too stuck that I couldn't get him out just enough that he couldn't get out by himself. I grabbed his scruff gently pulling him out of the crack, holding him to my chest. I slowly walked away from the area keeping an eye on the hyenas as I stepped back. I kept the small lion close to my chest making sure he wouldn't make a noise that would inform the hyenas of our near escape. When I was far enough away from them I booked it way from them. I was running back wards wanting to keep an eye on the animals. This worked till I tripped over my back pack falling onto my back and sliding a bit.

"Ow," I grunted out then looked down at the small cub pressed against my chest, "How you doing little buddy?"

The cub mewed at me trying to get out of my hold. I chuckled at him seeing that he wasn't majorly hurt. Unlike my back which I was positive now had several scrapes between the straps of my tan tank top.

"Where did the cub come from," Nicky asked while she was setting the lions leg in a splint.

"You did see me run after three hyenas with a bag of jerky right,"I said standing up, "He's why also why didn't you try to stop me."

"You didn't listen when you went after the lion so I didn't bother, also you seemed to have had a plan."

I was about to retort when the med team arrived taking over the care of our lion friend as well as looking after the cub. Our group also caught up and I got a major chewing from my professor for running off from the group then feeding wild animals which lasted all the way back to our camp. I took the chewing with hidden pride even when my professor called my mom on our satellite phone who then gave me another chewing out before praising me for getting the video of the stampede. Fair to say my ears were burning by dinner time. At dinner several of our native guides surrounded me praising my rescue of a lion cub, the biggest male they had ever seen, and surviving a wildebeest stamped. Several of my classmates joined them. Nicky also got many prairies as well though she enjoyed the attention while I was getting a little overwhelmed by the whole thing. I spent most of my meal listening to the praises, and even a song my music loving friend Jet wrote. Which I'm glad for, because his singing did distracted everyone long enough for me to sneak out of the mess tent and over to the medical tent where out lion friends were being tented to.

"Yeah doc how's our damsels doing," I called out as I entered the tent. The teams doctor was looking over the adult male writing down on a clipboard. The male was laying on one of the cots wounds bandaged broken bones casted, and hooked up to machines showing his heart rate and breathing. The lion cub was tied to a cot across from the males, mewing and pulling at the rope.

"Our male friend is doing well despite the height he fell by some miracle and yours and Nicky's quick action," she said pointing to the lion with her pen then pointing to the lion cub, "This little guy had a few scrapes and is other wise fine but won't let anyone touch him and is trying like Hell to get to the big guy."

"He must be his cub," I said walking over to the cub. I squatted to his eye level, "Hey there little guy."

The cub growled and hissed at me which I just smiled at, "I know your scared and want your daddy but he needs his rest. You are very brave though."

"Are you hungry you have had an eventful day," I said grabbing a near by bottle of untouched milk, "Here it's fresh from the village cattle near by."

I held the bottle to him but the cub just looked at his father with sadness in his eyes. I then picked him up untying the rope from the cot carrying him to the cot next to the lion. The cub mewed louder squirming in my arm, "Hold still little one. Your papa is hurt badly and you can't cuddle with him yet till his bones heal a bit more."

I moved closer to the males head so the cub could nuzzle his fathers snout. The male even nuzzled him back though he was still unconscious. I looked over at smiling ear to ear. She smile back at me. "See little guy your papa will be alright. Now lets get some dinner in that belly."

We sat back down and this time when I held the bottle close to the cub he drank from the bottle happily. He drank the whole bottle after which I took a warm washcloth wiping off his muzzle as well as cleaning his fur in a pattern which a cat would clean a cub. "Licking" his head, chest, back, belly helping his digestion.

"You are the first person that cub would let anyone near him," said.

"I just have a gift with these type of things," I smile setting the cub down on the cot. He curled up next to me and fell asleep with his head on my lap, "And now I'm stuck her."

The good doctor chuckled at me before leaving the area to a connecting smaller tent acting as our storage closet with crates and foot lockers full of supplies. I laced down on the cot getting comfortable as the little cub curled on my chest. I smiled at the cub knowing the day this guy had a good cuddle and nap would do him good. After awhile I fell asleep too.

Three weeks past since the stampede and our lion was healing well and was named Mufasa by Nicky after learning it meant king in Swahili. Several of our classmates wanted to call the cub

Prince but not all of us agreed. My little nickname for him was Simba, which meant lion. This soon caught on with the others that the name stuck.

After five weeks Mufasa was healed enough to go back to the wild with his son. We set them free a few miles away from the gorge I found them at so they would be able to find their way back to their pride. I was happy that they were able to return to their home but I would miss little Simba. Soon after they were released we were backing up camp and heading back home. The last night we had a fair well party with our guides in the mess tent. I had stepped outside for some air and one last look at the African sky. While I was walking around enjoying the night air I heard a strange rattle. I nearly jumped out of my skin thinking it was a rattlesnake but I then remembered that they didn't live in Africa. I looked around and saw a baboon with a long stick with several gords tied to the top of it.

The baboon held himself like a shawmen. He walked up to me looking me over. Shocked and not really sure what to do I kneeled before the shawmen baboon. He smiled at me rattling his staff over my head then held out a closed hand to me. I held out my hand which I then reserved a lions claw and fang. I looked back up at the baboon. He nodded at me then ran off towards a large lion that I hadn't seen before. After a second I recognized that the lion was Mufasa. I smiled at the lion before bowing my head to him, and I swear he bowed back before running off into the night with the baboon behind him. The next morning when we left for the airport we heard several lion roars as we drove from camp.