In the shots taken by Xiaowen and Daniel, the female antelope fell to the ground weakly.
Just as the audience in the live broadcast room were worried about what would happen to it, the female antelope turned its head and met the eyes of Xu Qiao who was behind the acacia branches in the cave. It actually stood up shakily and walked towards this side.
Xu Qiao was stunned for a moment, his eyes fell on its ear, and he noticed that there was a small label punched in the ear and hung on it. It was obvious that it could only come from humans.
It was most likely an antelope that had been rescued by humans, so when it saw Xu Qiao, it did not hide but chose to step forward and ask for help.
[This ewe has a sign on its ear]
[You've been marked, have you ever interacted with humans?]
[In this case, the program team can help out. This antelope might be the subject of observation of some research institute.]
Daniel focused the camera on the ear tag of the female antelope and saw a string of numbers on it, plus the English name of a local animal research institute.
Since they had previous contact with humans, it seemed reasonable for them to help at this time.
Xu Qiao thought for a while, and finally, when the female antelope fell down again due to exhaustion, he pushed aside the acacia branches blocking the outside of the cave and walked towards it.
Xiaowen and Daniel followed Xu Qiao and recorded the following scene at close range.
The female antelope raised her head and rubbed Xu Qiao's trouser leg with her horn. Xu Qiao squatted down and saw that the nose tip and two front hooves of the lamb were exposed under its body.
If the calf is born for a long time, it is easy for it to die of lack of oxygen. If the fetus dies in the womb, the mother antelope will also be in danger of death.
Xu Qiao made a quick check and found that the little antelope's limbs were still contracting, so it was still time to assist with the birth.
Without much hesitation, Xu Qiao asked Xiaowen to come over to help pull out the little antelope's hooves, while he pressed on the mother antelope's belly.
In order to reduce the pain of childbirth and shorten the delivery time, in this case, when the baby antelope's head is exposed, its two front hooves can be gently straightened outward and downward. If all goes well, the baby antelope will be able to come out smoothly.
Xiao Wen put the camera aside. It was his first time doing this and he was so nervous that sweat broke out on his forehead. He gently pulled it out under Xu Qiao's instructions.
[… So, is it really okay to be so simple and crude?]
[Same question, it makes me shudder, won’t my legs be broken?]
[Well, this veterinarian has to say that this is actually OK. This antelope was born upright, with its head between its front legs, and it came out of the birth canal first. The fetal position is upright, so it may be that the female antelope is a little weak, so there is nothing wrong with helping it give birth this way.]
The female antelope knew that Xu Qiao was there to help her and did not resist. Not long after, the baby antelope was finally born with the help of Xu Qiao and Xiao Wen. The baby antelope looked intact and healthy, and the audience in the live broadcast room all breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, I inexplicably felt a sense of honor.
Xu Qiao took Xiao Wen away immediately after the baby antelope was born.
After getting a distance away from the mother and child antelope, he squatted down and pushed aside the weeds on the ground. He buried his fingers in the soil several times before taking them out. He then told Xiaowen to go back to the off-road vehicle and washed his hands with disinfectant alcohol and mineral water.
"These newly born antelopes have a strong smell on their bodies, and they need to be cleaned before returning to the shelter. Otherwise, it will easily cause some unnecessary trouble." After explaining the reason for doing so, Xu Qiao returned to the shelter and rearranged the acacia branches outside the cave.
Animals have a natural tendency to avoid obstacles, and these thorny acacia branches act as fences, providing good cover and concealment.
Through the gaps between the branches, Xu Qiao turned his gaze back to the mother and child antelope.
They haven't left yet. The mother antelope lowered her head and gently licked her child. After the mucus on its body was licked clean, the little antelope stood up shakily.
At first its steps were a little unsteady and it walked crookedly, but after a while, the little antelope could stand steadily and even jumped a few times.
[Inexplicably moved]
[I can’t hold back my tears. The little antelope is so cute. I have no resistance to this kind of cub.]
Xu Qiao watched the whole process of the little antelope standing up. His voice was calm, but his eyes were much softer. "Every creature has its own talent to keep the species alive. A newborn antelope can run after two hours. Only by learning to stand and run as quickly as possible on the grassland can you escape from the hunting of natural enemies to the greatest extent possible."
Perhaps because the difficult birth consumed a lot of her energy, the mother antelope did not leave immediately with the baby antelope, but chose to feed the baby on the spot.
The little antelope would come under the mother antelope to drink milk. Sometimes, it would get anxious and spin around when it couldn't find its place. The mother antelope would gently touch the child with its horns.
The warmth and cuteness between mother and son infected the audience.
[Life is so fragile and beautiful]
[Roaring, mother's love is really great! ]
Xu Qiao frowned slightly as he watched. The female antelope had been resting and feeding for a little too long. He looked around. The grass was still calm, but the grassland was never as peaceful as it looked.
He pondered for a moment and said, "The smell produced by the antelope can easily attract wild animals. It should leave as soon as possible."
The audience disagreed.
[Qiao Qiao is too nervous. The view here is so wide. If there is any predator, it will be discovered before it comes. The antelope runs so fast, it will definitely be able to escape.]
[I just gave birth, let her take a rest, hahaha]
The barrage was immersed in the joy of new life, but then an unexpected scene appeared.
A group of drooling spotted hyenas came running from somewhere and snatched away the little antelope that had just stood up in the blink of an eye.
The mother antelope reacted and, ignoring the baby antelope that had just cried out and then died, she immediately stood up and tried to run away.
However, because the dystocia had consumed too much energy, the female antelope had no time to run away, so the spotted hyenas swarmed over and bit her all over her body.
The female antelope also became food for the spotted hyenas.
Under the sharp teeth of the spotted hyena, two antelopes, one big and one small, were silenced in an instant.
This sudden change made everyone unable to react in time. By the time they came to their senses, the group of spotted hyenas had already started enjoying the food.
The brown and yellow spotted hyenas are dog-like in size but closer to cats. At this time, they gathered together to tear at the flesh and blood. In order to prevent predators at the top of the food chain such as lions from coming to plunder their food, they ate very quickly, and the way they devoured their food looked very fierce and greedy.
In less than ten minutes, the two antelopes, one big and one small, were eaten clean by them.
The audience watching this scene fell silent, as if something was stuck in their throats.
It was not until then that they realized how cruel the prairie was.
What is presented in the camera along the way is the boundless wilderness, the lions napping lazily like big cats in the trees, the flamingos bathing gracefully in the lake, and the hospitable indigenous people of the Hadzabi tribe.
The camera also captured hunting activities from a distance, but the bloodiness did not give the audience such a deep feeling.
I just saw a baby antelope being born, and then I witnessed its death.
Rebirth and death, this was the first time I experienced such a direct hunt, and the emotional impact was greater than I had imagined.
I was so happy about the birth of the little antelope just now, but now I feel it is so dramatic.
[… ]
[Fuck, I feel a bit nauseous]
[I can’t bear it anymore, the shock is too great, I feel sick all over]
On the off-road vehicle, the program crew who were staring at the live broadcast data could see with their own eyes that the number of viewers in the live broadcast room had dropped significantly, and many people couldn't stand it and quit.
The spotted hyena left after eating.
Xu Qiao took in all of this through the gaps between the acacia branches, and after a while he sighed softly, "Spotted hyenas prefer to hunt at night, but nothing is absolute."
"There are always predators lurking in the grass here, and you never know when these high-end predators will attack."
He leaned against the cave wall, closed his eyes, and moved his fingers, which still had the touch of the soft body of a newborn lamb.
This is the real Serengeti grassland, primitive and cruel, where the rule of survival is the law of the jungle.
[I don’t know what to say… my nose is sore]
[Jojo looks a little sad, you've done what you can]
[Humans really shouldn’t interfere with nature. This antelope died due to a difficult birth. Xu Qiao’s intervention did not change its fate. It still died, which is a good result. After all, it did not affect other animals. Sometimes human intervention affects an entire group, which is truly unfortunate.]
[At least the baby antelope was born, it didn’t suffocate to death in the birth canal, and it got to experience a moment of standing on the grassland, so it can’t be said to be meaningless.]
[How do you know if the young gazelle would rather suffocate than be bitten and eaten?]
[Isn't it meaningless to argue like this?]
…
After waiting in the shelter for a while, Xu Qiao picked up his dagger and water bottle and went out to look for food.
When Xu Qiao came back after finding food and water, he saw a group of servals staying near the cave.
They have black spots on their yellow fur, and their torsos and limbs are slender, like small cheetahs.
It seemed like it was attracted by the smell of blood.
Knowing that he couldn't stay in this place any longer, Xu Qiao looked at the cave where he had just slept for the night and had to choose to leave.
Continue on your journey and look for new shelter near a water source.
In the next few days, Xu Qiao found a baobab tree and used baobab fruit to enrich his diet. He also built a new shelter, lit a bonfire at night to drive away wild animals, and occasionally fought with passing venomous snakes and small predators.
It was smoother than the first time surviving in the rainforest. This time, apart from consuming a lot of physical strength and energy, I didn’t get hurt much and successfully waited until the end of the tenth day of survival.
On the last day, the program crew returned to the Hadzabi tribe as promised.
When the roar of the off-road vehicle engine sounded on the grassland, the Hadzabi people ran out of the camp from afar to greet it.