Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

In the northern hemisphere's autumn, the air was laced with a hint of coolness.

The Kilimanjaro Mountain Range blocked the moist monsoon blowing in from the Indian Ocean, and abundant water vapor poured back over the savanna, diminishing the heat of the day with a slight chill. Beneath the night sky, brilliant stars scattered across the clear expanse.

The piercing howls of jackals rose and fell on the vast plains, while red-necked nightjars, hidden by the cloak of darkness, soared and called out to each other with cries that sounded like mournful sobs, beseeching the silent gods of the African savanna.

Beyond that, the night was eerily quiet.

Cecil, an eight-year-old male lion, paced along the sandstone path, his steps light and occasionally leaping over the rough ground with a bound.

His paws, the size of soup plates, gripped the rocky terrain, and the quartz sand crunched crisply as it compressed and collided.

Only when marking his scent on the roadside bushes did the strong Lion King pause.

As the only species of feline with a mane for both sexes, Cecil's mane, billowing in the night wind, powerfully proclaimed his unchallenged kingship over this tropical savanna.

Since becoming the ruler of this territory, Cecil had spent nearly every night for the past five years patrolling his domain, marking the boundaries with his scent to maintain his sovereign status.

This was also why male lions did not need to hunt; their job was to ensure the safety of their territory, grappling with intruders.

His hind paws scraped powerfully against the sandy ground, and Cecil firmly underscored his "scent signature" as a conclusion to the day's work.

Just as the Lion King was shaking his fur, preparing to return to his pride, a strong and distinctive scent suddenly wafted from the darkness ahead.

Elephant meat!

Cecil's nostrils flared, easily detecting the scent's owner, his mood becoming excited.

Elephant meat, such a long-lost food.

On the vast and endless savanna, even a pride of lions hesitated to touch certain animals—the herds of elephants.

Even the mightiest lion prides had to coexist cautiously with the largest beasts on land, bearing their hunger in painful resignation, even when famished.

To feast on elephant meat, lions could only rely on luck to come across the carcass of a starved old elephant or perhaps one killed by humans.

Mostly, it was the remains of elephants killed by humans; those that starved usually died near water sources, quickly consumed by crocodiles, leaving bones festooned with leeches and ants, spoiled and virtually inedible.

But elephants slain by humans, save for the shattered heads, were almost entirely intact, and if lions could scare away the flock of scavenging hyenas, they could indulge in a satisfying meal.

Cecil couldn't understand why humans would kill an elephant and not eat it, but generations of experience taught him that staying away from humans was never a mistake—they were more vicious than hyenas.

Having not eaten elephant meat for a long time, the scent of a dead elephant suddenly coming through the darkness was undeniably a strong lure to Cecil, who had just finished his work and become hungry.

Experience told the Lion King that a free lunch had come his way.

Yet this carcass seemed slightly different from those in the past, and according to the experience of this large feline, he should be cautious.

There was the scent of humans on it.

It could smell it.

No matter how quiet humans thought they were, trying to avoid giving off scents, the animals always managed to detect the slightest traces.

Clothing rustling, the mixed odors of toothpaste and body spray mingled with the smell of gun oil and plastic.

Unless one abandoned everything of industrial society, standing naked and smeared with mud, these scents were so out of place in the world of wild animals' senses, like a white snowflake drifting into a coal mine.

The strong, enticing smell of blood and meat, mixed with the complex scents of industrial products, made Cecil hesitate.

But the smell of elephant meat was too delicious, delicious to the extent that each one of its empty intestines was desperately shaking, sending hunger signals to its brain.

Perhaps it was those humans who liked to roar around in big monsters?

Cecil thought.

Experience had taught Cecil that humans were terrifying, their "claws" could easily penetrate the thickest rhino skin, but it had also grown accustomed to the presence of humans.

With more people authorized to enter the national park for photographic tours, the Lion King had long become used to the smell of humans, it never approached nor dared to drive them away, only waiting for the strong, unnatural scents to slowly dissipate on the savannah.

It must be some people just passing through.

Suspicion begot suspicion; once a suspect was identified, one tended to take the wrong information and continuously strengthen their logical chain, a mistake even the smartest humans made, let alone a starving lion.

Unfortunately, this time the ones fixated on the Lion King were no longer the people Cecil was familiar with.

To minimize the impact of scent and noise, preventing them from drifting over the clearing, the sneaky individuals hid on a platform built high upon the trunk of a tree downwind from the elephant carcass.

An Ugly Country man crouched on the high platform, smiling involuntarily as he watched the Lion King step into the trap as planned, revealing his pearly white teeth, obviously taking great care of them.

But clearly the man had no love for nature, a powerful compound bow was strung in his hands, and his slightly smudged-fingerprint palm was pinching an arrow from the quiver, his intentions clear without a word.

Palmer was an Ugly Country dentist, and for this hunt, he had spent a full three hundred thousand dollars to sort everything out, just for a few photos after the successful hunt.

A sturdy guide stood to Palmer's left, and to his right was an even more robust-looking man, sitting as if he were a bodyguard; clearly, this gun-holding individual was the safety catch of the hunting operation.

For the sake of concealment and safety, they had dragged the elephant carcass onto the clearing with an off-road vehicle, then built a platform in the nearby trees and set up a camouflaged hunting tent above it for a better overhead view of the elephant's remains.

After completing the camouflage, Palmer climbed up to the platform and quietly waited for the lion to appear.

Sitting motionless in this narrow hideout, having to deal with various reptiles and flies, was originally a difficult and unbearable task, but the excitement of the imminent trophy scattered all negative factors.

This reminded Palmer of the memories of playing video games as a youth, holding his urine to get through levels, only now, as he aged, he had grown fond of more thrilling pursuits and had the financial means to make them a reality.

With the lion drawing closer, everyone knew the wait wouldn't last much longer.

This Lion King was a prime target for hunting—on the edge of a reserve, a lone lion, and already accustomed to the presence of humans.

Cecil sniffed at the clearing, and finally, the allure of the elephant meat overcame its caution, it slowly approached the elephant carcass, its sharp teeth like scissors tearing through the tough, dry-tinder-like skin to expose the vivid red flesh beneath, as an even more intense scent emerged.

In just a few minutes, Cecil, engrossed in feasting, didn't notice the arrow in the hunter's hand was already notched to the bowstring.