WILD THING // from humble beginnings comes a King. [CD]
Nov 13, 2022 17:38:25 GMT -5
CJ Phoenix and Holden Ross like this
Post by Rey Jaguar on Nov 13, 2022 17:38:25 GMT -5
At the Parque Zoológico del Centenario in Merida, on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, there was a jaguar cub.
The little guy had really been through hell and back before he got there. He was supposed to have two to three brother and or sisters by human estimations, and his mother was supposed to stay with them all until they were a year old. Then? She was supposed to hang around for another year yet - just to make sure her offspring got a knack for hunting and feeding and staying out of trouble. But that's not what happened - after all if it had, he wouldn't be in a zoo. Instead something got his mother... he probably didn't know what, probably didn't see it either. However many siblings he had it was probably asking a little too much for him to remember, and there was no way to tell how many months old he was when this all happened either. Old enough to catch small game with his claws at least, otherwise he would have starved to death. Perhaps some of his siblings didn't dodge that fate like he did, maybe that's why he was found alone, malnourished, sick and scared out on the juggle by himself. Humans and wild animals have a... tumultuous relationship to be sure. But every once in awhile, when the right people are in the right place... they help.
And so he was brought to that zoo in Merida, safely away from natural predators, poachers, fires caused by logging camps and any number of other dangers. There could have been a serious argument for leaving him where he was found if he had been healthy - but as ill as the cub was it would have weighed jsut a little too heavily on the hearts of the tall furless apes that found him to leave him alone to die. That's how he recovers, that's how he grows. Since he's younger than the age they would release any other jaguar into the wild they decide to keep him just a little bit longer. Now he's grown into a young powerful hunter, just over a year old. Spending that time in captivity he's a little out of practice... but he's strong, healthy. When they release him back into the wild he isn't going to be the scared, sick little cub that the jungle could terrify and take advantage of. He'll be a fighter, a predator.
And as the young man, who knows this story and knows it well, finishes sweeping up his enclosure and locks the door thinks about it... there's something to this story that strikes home harder than just a feel good tale about people helping an animal in need. It's more familiar than that. He turns to look through the glass and locks eyes with the young jaguar he's been helping take care of as a part time job... and in that moment it's like they are sharing souls.
His family was supposed to be with him... and they weren't. Maybe they died... maybe he just wasn't wanted.
He was hopeless and in need when a stranger came along and changed everything, gave him a path to walk and something to strive for. He could still hear the sharp smack of the ring canvas from practice earlier in the day.
He was being built into something better... something more. He wasn't a scared little kid anymore. He was something else.
He was a fighter. He was a warrior.
He lifted his hand and rubbed his thumb under his eye. The Jaguar didn't break eye contact, it's only movement the lazy sway of it's tail at it lay there, observing it's caretaker so intensely.
"I know you're gonna be okay out there... but I'm still gonna miss you."
The cub turned young hunter, who'd never growled or swiped at him and even had a habit of coming up to rub against him for an extra treat or two, chuffed a little and flicked it's ears in his direction. The young man smiled.
"And you're probably gonna miss me. But... I think I'm gonna be okay too."
The little guy had really been through hell and back before he got there. He was supposed to have two to three brother and or sisters by human estimations, and his mother was supposed to stay with them all until they were a year old. Then? She was supposed to hang around for another year yet - just to make sure her offspring got a knack for hunting and feeding and staying out of trouble. But that's not what happened - after all if it had, he wouldn't be in a zoo. Instead something got his mother... he probably didn't know what, probably didn't see it either. However many siblings he had it was probably asking a little too much for him to remember, and there was no way to tell how many months old he was when this all happened either. Old enough to catch small game with his claws at least, otherwise he would have starved to death. Perhaps some of his siblings didn't dodge that fate like he did, maybe that's why he was found alone, malnourished, sick and scared out on the juggle by himself. Humans and wild animals have a... tumultuous relationship to be sure. But every once in awhile, when the right people are in the right place... they help.
And so he was brought to that zoo in Merida, safely away from natural predators, poachers, fires caused by logging camps and any number of other dangers. There could have been a serious argument for leaving him where he was found if he had been healthy - but as ill as the cub was it would have weighed jsut a little too heavily on the hearts of the tall furless apes that found him to leave him alone to die. That's how he recovers, that's how he grows. Since he's younger than the age they would release any other jaguar into the wild they decide to keep him just a little bit longer. Now he's grown into a young powerful hunter, just over a year old. Spending that time in captivity he's a little out of practice... but he's strong, healthy. When they release him back into the wild he isn't going to be the scared, sick little cub that the jungle could terrify and take advantage of. He'll be a fighter, a predator.
And as the young man, who knows this story and knows it well, finishes sweeping up his enclosure and locks the door thinks about it... there's something to this story that strikes home harder than just a feel good tale about people helping an animal in need. It's more familiar than that. He turns to look through the glass and locks eyes with the young jaguar he's been helping take care of as a part time job... and in that moment it's like they are sharing souls.
His family was supposed to be with him... and they weren't. Maybe they died... maybe he just wasn't wanted.
He was hopeless and in need when a stranger came along and changed everything, gave him a path to walk and something to strive for. He could still hear the sharp smack of the ring canvas from practice earlier in the day.
He was being built into something better... something more. He wasn't a scared little kid anymore. He was something else.
He was a fighter. He was a warrior.
He lifted his hand and rubbed his thumb under his eye. The Jaguar didn't break eye contact, it's only movement the lazy sway of it's tail at it lay there, observing it's caretaker so intensely.
"I know you're gonna be okay out there... but I'm still gonna miss you."
The cub turned young hunter, who'd never growled or swiped at him and even had a habit of coming up to rub against him for an extra treat or two, chuffed a little and flicked it's ears in his direction. The young man smiled.
"And you're probably gonna miss me. But... I think I'm gonna be okay too."
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