Article January 1, 2003 Issue

Baby Oryx and Mother Lion

By Samuel Muiruri,—Kenya

The oryx is a wild animal that lives in the African national parks. It's a kind of antelope that has long, straight horns and beautiful black-and-white marks on its head. Its favorite food is grass and leaves. Oryxes like to graze in groups. They stick together to help each other watch out for big cats, like lions, who prey on them. Oryxes are very fast runners. When an oryx spots a lion it will alert the others, so they can all run away. Lions hunt for animals like the oryx because they eat mainly meat.

One day in Kenya, a lioness was hunting in the jungle, and came across a baby oryx. The little oryx was all alone. Maybe its mother had been scared away or caught by another lion.

When the lioness saw the baby oryx, she did not scare it. Instead, she laid down beside it. The baby oryx cuddled up to her. And the two of them became friends. From then on, they roamed in the wild together. Wherever the baby oryx went, the lioness would follow. She chased away other wild animals that might harm the baby oryx. When the little oryx was grazing, the lioness kept a careful watch. Sometimes she went hunting, but she would return right away to make sure the little oryx was all right. The lioness took care of the baby oryx like she would take care of her own cubs.

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