My Life As A Young Wildebeest

A Wildebeest

This morning I woke up sweating, breathing heavy and in a total panic. My brothers and sisters were looking at me in a funny way as if I was crazy. For weeks now, three strong, ferocious and cruel lionesses have been visiting me in my sleep. And they do not come for a tea party, no! They come for blood.

My grandfather used to tell us stories when we were young, of how the lions suffocate our kind before eating us as a sign of mercy. But these lions are nothing like that, in my dreams they tear me apart as if they are auditioning for a national geographic documentary. I dare not tell this dream to anyone because rumour has it that when you experience this kind of dreams, there is a lion staking you out for a meal.

The day starts with the typical morning head bashing game. This is the best part of my day. The reigning champion also known as ‘bone crusher’ is going head to head, literary with a visitor all the way from Serengeti. Auntie says that if the visitor wins, a curse will befall our home (the Maasai Mara) and we will probably have to move to the Serengeti.

Bone crusher comes in strong in the first round knocking some doubt into the visitor’s confidence. But the visitor is no amateur. He comes with renewed energy in round two, almost knocking bone crusher off his game. They lock horns again, bone crusher thrusting the visitor with all his might.

Just as bone crusher is about to finish him off, I find myself running with all my might wondering what is going on. As I glance back, I see a neighbour of mine crying for help as a lioness sinks her deadly canines into his neck. I stop and watch in horror as the lioness strips his life away and his cries for help slowly fade away. It’s a sad day for all of us.

The attacks on our kind were not this rampant but ever since the new war lords (pride males) took over the pride, brutality has been on the rise. Word spreads around that the following week we start our journey to the Serengeti. I learn later that during the commotion, the visitor ambushed bone crusher and broke his leg leaving him as dinner for the war lords.

Its early morning and though am relieved to get out of these killing grounds, I cannot stop thinking about the river of blood (the Mara river). Most of us will make it across but those who are not so lucky will join bone crusher in paradise. As we get to the river, I see the blood thirsty crocodiles waiting for ‘room service so to speak’ but make a promise to myself that I will not die today.

I quickly jump into the water, with my heart racing like a formula one car and head to the other side. The water is freezing cold and I can barely see ahead with so many of us in the water. I manage to make it across safely and am greeted by my family who are glad, I survived my first crossing. The future looks bright, with plenty of food and lots of girls. Truly the grass is greener on the other side.

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