Emmanuel_Capricorn
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TLK : Chapter 116
🕑 Added 2025-08-30 18:54:01 +0000 UTC[1st POV]
The tallest animal in the world.
Giraffes.
A fully grown male giraffe, referred to as the bull, can grow up to 20 feet in height and weigh around 1800 kg to 2000 kg. The bigger bulls can even exceed the 2000 kg mark and grow even taller than 20 feet tall.
Weighing on average twice as much as Cape Buffalo, they are giants on the level of rhinos and hippos.
They roamed the savannah with no natural predators. They stood above every living being, unbothered and content to live their lives. The only threat in their life was a fellow giraffe and nothing else.
Hunting down a giraffe would be a tall task, even for me.
But I was prepared. I've had wet dreams of hunting down this beast, and now I finally have an excuse to do so.
"Should I be concerned? You look too excited for your own good," Nala said beside me as we followed the guide of a vulture.
As they were the ones with wings, the vultures were able to find the giraffe faster than we did. Apparently, the living tower was hard to miss for those that can fly so they located it instantly.
Although the giraffe was further than I would like, I couldn't move it even if I killed it, so it was almost too far.
"What? I'm not excited," I lied while trying to suppress my grin.
Due to my duties as a king and due to constant challengers, I wasn't able to hunt other giants back home. There was always something stopping me from taking the unnecessary risk so I never bothered.
But now I had a solid reason to hunt this beast down. Of course, I was excited. Whether this was a success or not, I was already winning because of the chance the hunt them in my books.
"And even if I was, take it as a good sign," I said, "You have to love what you do in order to excel in it."
I've thought about this on multiple occasions. It was not like my first hunt with buffalo, where I was forced by necessity so I didn't have much time to plan or strategise. I had been thinking of it for months now.
I was confident in taking down a buffalo until proven otherwise. Although they were giant, they had an awkward build that was not suitable for violence. Which is more dangerous? A tank or a crane.
Just because it's taller and bigger doesn't mean it will be more dangerous. Rhinos and hippos, those would be the real danger in that weight class, not Mr Long Neck.
When we found the footprints and the fresh dung of the giraffe, we realised we were close. There was no talking between us then and we slowed down our pace. We were trotting silently, not exactly stalking, but silent.
A few minutes later, we finally saw our prey.
"Okay, he is huge," that's what she said, "I always knew they were big, but with the mindset of hunting them, they appear even bigger."
I nodded, sharing her sentiment. Or perhaps this one was bigger than most? I was not sure.
"Should we look for another target?" the vulture who perched on top of an acacia tree with no leaves said.
"That one is a bull. I'm sure we can find a smaller target, maybe a juvenile or a female," he said.
I shook my head, "No, this one is perfect. If we search for others, they might be too far away. I don't want to roam that far from the pride."
Since we were so close to the Pridelands, leaving the pride alone for too long could lead to disastrous results. Perhaps the hyenas would come down to search for food, perhaps other lions would. You never know, so I wanted to be at least close enough to respond quickly when they roared and called for me.
"What should I do?" Nala asked me.
"The plan is to make him fall. With his towering stature, it's game over if he fell on the ground, so I will try to bring him down. Your job will be to come and help me kill it then, before it has a chance to retaliate or get back up," I said.
Did you know that giraffes almost never lie down on the ground? They sleep while standing up, eat while standing up, and drink while standing up. Heck, they even gave birth standing up.
They were super vulnerable when brought to the ground.
"What? But I can help you bring him down. Even if I don't have the raw power like you, I can at least distract him while you attack from the back," she said, her eyes pleading to be included.
"We will do that next time, when I am sure that it's safe. Right now, we are not desperate." I said and Nala nodded, although unwillingly. She didn't argue with her king.
If I didn't get a feel from the prey first, I didn't want to include my lionesses. For all I know, the giraffe could be stronger than my expectations. One hit and Nala could be dead.
So as Nala waited for me behind a tree, I began stalking the giraffe.
You would think that with his head so high above the ground, the giraffe would have trouble hearing things on the ground. But nope, the giraffe picked up on my presence in an instant, and he looked at me.
I could see his eyes locking on me. Giraffes had excellent eyesight, unlike buffaloes. They were basically a living watchtower.
The giraffe saw me but didn't react. Instead, he turned his body to face me and continued feeding on the leaves on top of a tree. I, too, stopped the pointless stalking and strolled towards him.
I walked towards him at an even pace while my eyes scanned the prey. I searched for any injuries on him, perhaps he had an old wound, or maybe a weakness?
The giraffe was also sizing me up and down while chewing on leaves. His blue tongue was long and occasionally came out from his mouth to eat more leaves.
When I was close to a giraffe, I stopped walking forward and instead circled him. He tried to keep an eye on me and turn his body to face me, but as I quickened my pace, he was not able to keep up.
I jogged in circles around him, searching for an opening. But a few seconds of circling taught me there was never going to be an opening; I had to make one myself.
So I changed direction at lightning speed and sprinted towards him. I was not a master of speed but I was a master of acceleration. In just a second, I was like a truck going at full speed.
But even at such speed, the giraffe was able to react. He twisted his long body and turned to face me. His front hooves immediately came up before they were brought down with incredible force.
He was slow and his attacks were easy to predict due to the long limbs. But what made my eyes go wide was the sheer accuracy and timing the attack had. If I didn't do anything, I was going to head straight for the hooves.
So I acted quickly and turned my body. I slid on the dry ground, stirring up a cloud of dust before I was able to stop.
Right then, the hooves stomped on the ground. The force released a muffled thud, like the solid ground was flesh. The hooves left a huge dent and the vibration was enough to be felt under my paws.
It was powerful. It was more than enough to crack a skull and kill a lion.
But that was not the main attack.
!!!!!
Instinct screamed. The cloud of dust blocked my vision, but I could see something cutting through the smoke. I leapt back with the lightning reflex of a cat, just in time to dodge a wrecking ball.
No, not a wrecking ball. It had a long neck and a thick skull. But the force behind it was the same as a wrecking ball.
It flashed past me, but the sheer whiplash made me think I got hit for a moment. After the head swung by, the smoke was cleared instantly.
I was glad I didn't allow Nala to come with me. That was a death sentence to most lions. And the way he used the smoke to hide the main attack...I realised then that the giraffe was smart and had probably killed many lions with that move.
The giraffe huffed when he realised he missed. But without pause, he brought up his hooves again and began stomping towards me.
His attacks were strong, but too slow and predictable for a cat. I moved back, dodging the hooves that smashed the earth repeatedly in place of me.
The attacks were relentless and violent. Each one was enough to kill a lion; one hit and game over. But my smile only got wider at that risk and danger.
I was not only dodging the attacks, but I was also counting the rhythm. A few seconds passed, and I finished my study.
When his hooves stomped on the ground, my jaw went straight for it. I was much quicker than he was, so I was able to bite at his leg. It was the same tactic I would use on a buffalo.
But a giraffe was not a buffalo. The leg was so much thicker and sturdier on the giraffe. My brief bite did no damage as he pulled back with an angry hum.
And then his neck swung and swung his head like a wrecking ball. I pulled back in time but the head whipped right past my mane. It was way too close for comfort. I did not want such a deadly blow to be that close to me.
And then the giraffe tried to stomp me again. Now that shows why a giraffe was less threatening than a buffalo. He followed the same rhythm, the same style.
So I moved when I predicted an opening. Instead of moving back to dodge, I lunged forward.
I slammed on his powerful chest. My claws came out and anchored on the hide. My teeth also found flesh as I hung on the giraffe like that.
At his lower neck, I was also tall enough to touch the ground. But I hung on because I wanted to weigh him down with my weight. 400 kilograms weighing down on him should be enough to bring it down, right?
Right and wrong.
The giraffe was going to fall but he caught himself with his long legs. I tugged and he fell again but caught himself again right on time. He stumbled like that many times, falling but never crashing on the ground.
And then he finally caught himself properly. How the fuck was he able to carry my weight? I did not know.
The giraffe began stomping and hopping. The movement caused my claws to tear the skin and come off. I was not able to carry my weight with my jaw alone so in the end, I fell off.
When you were under a giraffe, the danger was off the charts. It was only my cat reflexes that saved me from getting stomped.
I moved towards the back, passing between the hind legs. His back leg kicked and the hooves whipped past me, barely grazing my skin but I was lucky enough to dodge.
I will admit that it was pure luck that I escaped unscathed.
After I escaped from under him, the giraffe ran off. He no longer tried to fight me off as he realised the danger I posed.
And I let him. It was way more dangerous than I thought, so I didn't bother chasing it again. It was also running further away from the pride so chasing after it would not be wise.
My teeth and claws managed to injure him, though as he left, drops of blood marked where he ran. But it was not enough to bring him down.
I sighed a deep sigh. I did not underestimate the giraffe. I fared with the giant as well as I thought I would. But what I underestimated was the danger.
When I hunted a buffalo, I heavily underestimated them but I also overestimated their danger. When I wrestled with one, I realised I could tank their strength with my body now. I was stronger than I thought.
But that was not the case for a giraffe.
There was no doubt in my mind that the giraffe could kill me with one mistake.
One mistake, that was all there was between life and death.
Nala walked up to me after the giraffe was long gone.
"Sorry, Nala, seems I let him escape," I said with a smile.
"No, that was incredible!!" Nala said, genuinely, "You nearly got him,"
Eh, not really, but I didn't say that.
"I know we'll get him next time," she said, and I agreed.
An actual experience of fighting a giraffe, although brief, would help me plan for the next hunt. I couldn't promise next time would be a success, but I now knew that it was possible to bring down a giraffe.
"Let's go back before the others wake up," I said.
My failure was a win for me. It was a much-needed humble pie before what awaits me.
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Comments
GeneralBlack
Hmm are giraffes legs that durable they seem quite fragile?
Emmanuel_Capricorn
Yup
GeneralBlack
Name of the chapter is wrong! Or the one before is wrong.
