[3rd POV]
[Name : Dr. T. Soma Tonson
Role : Lead Researcher]
After the documentary showed the brutal war between the lions and the crocodiles, it gave some time for the audience to rest and unwind from the things they had witnessed.
Leo had been popular way before this documentary was released. Rumors and leaked images had gone viral on the internet about how Leo once massacred crocodiles, but it was never proven true.
But now those rumors were proven, and evidence was in front of their faces, undeniable.
They had literally just witnessed lions vs crocodiles, something they had dreamed of at least once in their childhood while learning about animals. It gave the ultimate answer to the generation-long question.
The documentary showed footage of lions resting and time-lapsed scenes of the pride recovering from their injuries. It gave drone footage of the passing days. But after a while, the slow melody that was playing over those footages stopped.
The screen darkened.
And when it lit up again, Dr. Tonson could be seen sitting in that same studio-made office of his.
"The war with the crocodiles was only one of the many battles that Leo fought in the dry season. That war was only the appetizer to all the blood that would follow," Dr. Tonson said.
"In the savannah, there are two seasons that shape life and death, the wet and the dry," he said ominously.
"The wet season is mercy. The dry season is judgment," he said, "Water did not flow in the Serengeti, but something thicker did, and that was blood."
The footage changed from Dr. Tonson to the wide aerial shots of the Serengeti turning pale, its lush green shrinking into a dull gold. Patches of cracked soil split the ground like scars. Herds moved slowly northward, kicking up dust that trailed behind them like smoke.
"It was the first dry season since Leo became king," Dr. Tonson's voice played over those footages, "For most lion kings, the dry months are the hardest period of their reign. Food becomes scarce, water becomes currency, and challengers become inevitable."
"And for Leo, this season was very much similar in its difficulty, but in a completely different way. For him, it was not a season where he became weaker, smaller, or starved. It was a season where he turned from this just king to a killing machine. A monster in lion's clothing that slaughtered his own kind."
The drone footage showed Leo. He was three years and six months old now. His mane was darker and fuller than ever before. His frame was enormous, muscles flexing visibly beneath his hide with every step. The scars across his shoulders and flanks caught the sunlight like cracks in gold.
"At this age, Leo reached his physical peak. His estimated weight was between 365 and 380 kilograms, nearly 100 kilograms heavier than the average adult lion."
"His forelimbs alone produced a striking force of 3,000 newtons, equivalent to being hit by a sledgehammer swung at full force. His bite force was triple that of other lions, sitting at around 2,200 psi, and his ability to accelerate made him a living landslide that could charge at a moment's notice," Dr. Tonson said as the footage circled around Leo, showing him in all his beastly glory.
"And yet, none of that strength was used for hunting this time of year. It was all used for war."
The next footage transitioned to the savannah plains at sunrise.
The camera followed Leo as he stood over the corpse of a dead lion, his mane rusted with blood. The young challenger's throat was crushed, and his brother's body lay not far away, already being picked apart by vultures.
"By the start of the second month of the dry season, Leo had already fought over forty-six recorded challenges. The challengers were not random either; they were driven here, pushed by hunger and thirst. Not only for the physical aspect but also the abstract — they were hungry for rule and thirsty for power," he said.
"This is what we call the Lion Convergence Effect. When drought hits, every rogue within a hundred kilometres gravitates toward the same fertile territory. And Leo ruled one of the last green corridors that still had shade, water, and prey."
The scene cut to a map, showing a wide red area labelled Leo's Territory. It stretched across multiple dried riverbeds and bordered what was once the Mbali brothers' land.
"His kingdom was roughly five times the size of a normal lion pride's territory. It was a gift of victory and a curse of attention. The Mbali brothers before him ruled only a fraction of this land, even though they claimed all the territory. They also had each other. Leo had no one," he said.
The footage returned to Leo dragging a challenger's body across the dust. The audiences were wondering what he was doing until he reached a boulder and proceeded to slam the lion's head against the stone multiple times in a raw display of violence.
Dr. Tonson spoke quietly, almost in respect.
"If you want the full footage of this battle, you may refer to kingsarchive.com. But for a moment, let me give you context to what is happening. At this point, Leo no longer fought to prove dominance. He fought to eliminate repetition," he said.
"When he spared his enemies, they healed, formed coalitions, and returned. So he adapted to become this monster that had no mercy, no hesitation. He walked the line between cruelty and efficiency," he said.
The next half hour of the documentary showed montage clips of multiple battles across the savannah. Different challengers, different terrains, different situations.
But all ending the same way. Leo's mane grew darker with blood, his patience thinner, his expression more distant as he stood over dead bodies.
"The average territorial male faces five or six serious challengers during the season. Leo faced nearly one every two days. By the end of the dry season's second month, his kill count was over fifty confirmed lions," he said.
"It got to the point that we, as researchers, grew absolutely worried over the ridiculous kill counts. At this rate, he himself could wipe out all of the species in just a few years."
The footage slowed down after that. The montage was over, and it showed Leo standing under the rising sun. His body reflected shallow wounds and scars. His face was also different. People could realize instantly that all the killing had changed Leo somehow.
Dr. Tonson's voice echoed, explaining the scene.
"The euphoria of dominance had faded. Killing had become work. And Leo had grown numb to all."
The camera zoomed in on Leo's face alone. He seemed to be looking straight at the camera, and he seemed to know that people were watching him. His eyes looked barely alive.
"The stress levels recorded through observation showed abnormal consistency, an indicator of chronic combat fatigue. In humans, this would be equivalent to burnout or combat exhaustion."
The footage zoomed out and showed that again, there was another corpse beside his body. Leo walked away from the corpse, panting, and began roaring into the wind. The sound rolled like thunder across the plain.
Dr. Tonson continued, "His roars during this time were measured at 117 decibels from one hundred meters away. For comparison, that is louder than a chainsaw and close to the threshold of human pain."
"It was the roar of frustration and anger. It was the shout of a king so done with all the bloody battles that he hoped to scare away all challengers with his roar, without resorting to killing yet again. We could tell from this that Leo was actually not very fond of what he had to do and all that he had done," he said.
The camera continued following Leo as he slowly walked across the dry savannah and returned back to his pride.
When he reached the pride, they greeted him by standing up and getting physical contact to greet him. Their heads dipped down when he passed, and they made way for him to reach the carcass of a buffalo that lay at the centre of the pride.
It was half-eaten but still fresh with all its organs intact.
"But on the bright side, the lionesses had adapted beautifully to his rule. They had learned to hunt larger prey independently. The buffalo herds, once untouchable, had splintered due to the drought. This made them slower and more vulnerable, so even without the king's help, the pride hunted successfully every two days. When Leo was tired from the battles, the pride supported him by feeding him everything he would need," he said.
The footage cut between the lionesses dragging down a buffalo, successfully hunting it down, and transitioned to Leo tearing at the organs of the bull they killed.
"Lionesses typically weigh between 120 and 180 kilograms, but Leo's females averaged higher, at around 190 kilograms each, due to muscle growth from constant movement and hunting."
"In all seriousness, you know that this was not a lazy pride. This was a nomadic army that Leo had built."
The scene continued as Leo chewed into the buffalo's heart, black blood spilling down his jaw. Two lionesses beside him groomed his wounds, licking the fresh cuts along his neck and shoulder.
"They also played the role of nursing him when he returned wounded from battle. Their tongues removing infection, cleaning his battle wounds, and preparing him for the next challenge," he said.
The camera focused on the scarred side of his body. His muscles twitched from pain, not pleasure. He was making low growls while tearing through his meal and as the two lionesses nursed him.
"His wounds were shallow but constant. Most were cuts, punctures, and bruises. They were minor, but collectively debilitating. The average lion requires two weeks to fully heal from a serious fight."
"But Leo never had two days."
...
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(Afternoon)
The sun slowly rose into the sky and came back down. It was afternoon of the same day, and the documentary showed footage of Leo leaving his pride once again, walking under the burning sun.
The camera also caught the infamous vulture that was always beside Leo, and people were familiar with him at that point.
"Unlike most males, Leo did not wait for challenges to find him but instead, he hunted his challengers. He used an aerial companion, a vulture, who had learned to signal him from the sky. Together, they patrolled vast distances daily, a unique partnership rarely seen in mammalian behaviour and something the documentary had covered before," he said.
A slow pan followed Leo's shadow as he walked. The grass crunched dry beneath his paws.
"This behaviour is unprecedented among lions. Instead of defending a single core area, Leo adopted a patrol radius of nearly 90 square kilometres. It was a range more akin to migrating elephants than territorial cats," he said.
"And in doing so, Leo had changed what it meant to be lion king entirely."
The voice faded away. The footage was that of Leo walking through the savannah as it slowly panned away. It indicated it was the end of the episode.
But the voice of Dr. Tonson came again right before everything went dark.
"Leo did not even get to rule for the complete dry season, and yet by the end of his first dry season, Leo had fought 103 battles, killed 87 lions, and lost none."
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[IMAGE]
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