This is the survival-story of a family of hyenas, living in the Namib desert of Africa . Orange sand dunes and Orange river, white salt deposits, fascinating landscape. The vast Namib desert has the Atlantic Ocean kissing it on the eastern side, while the southern portion is engulfed by the gigantic Kalahari Desert.
A mile or two away from the seashore on the Namib desert lies a ghost town. Just occupied by a few big, abandoned buildings, where the local aborigines fear to go even in the daylight.
But in that ghost town, there lived a family of five hyenas. Father, mother and their three cubs. They didn’t have any neighbors and hence the kids only had themselves to play with each other. They were a triplet and so they all were of the same age. The parents took turns to gather food but had to struggle all day to make the ends meet. It was not an easy task, given the surrounding area was a desert. Sometimes the kids were with their mum all day when the father went to find some food and the other days, they were with their father while their mother went out hunting for the same. They were a family of hyenas. So, they had to hunt to get the food. Hunting is not easy in a desert. Vast open areas, but hardly inhabited by living beings and even lesser to hunt. So it was an everyday story of struggle to keep the babies well-fed.
Then came a winter day when the weather was nice in the morning. Warm and sunny. The previous night had been killing though. The chilly wind almost froze them to death. So the kids were happy to see the morning sun. They playfully busked in the sunshine outside while the father went out in search of some food. He was hungry and so were his kids and wife. It was afternoon already but the father wasn’t back. The kids became restless. They were very hungry now. Their mother became tense. Her husband should have been back by now. The sun was set. He didn’t return. The entire day passed but he didn’t return. They waited for two days. But there was no trace of the father. The family had to embrace the inevitable. He must have been killed somewhere in the vast desolate desert. There was no way they could find out. The place was riddled with dangers that were alerted by many, before they even set out for this place. It seemed they had started facing the wrath of the dead. The father did not return. The ghost town was on its way preying on the remaining.
Next morning, the mother decided to go out hunting. She had to. She couldn’t see her children starving. She knew she might not return, just like her husband. But she had no other choice. She thought of going near the seashore.
The Atlantic Ocean swept the beach which was just a mile away from the ghost town. The morning on the seashore saw cape fur seals coming and resting on the beach. They used to come in huge numbers and leave when the desert started to get warm. They used to bring their pups with them. The pups were fifteen pound balls of blubber. Although they are unsuited to desert life, they liked to play all day on the beach and then retreat to the sea with their parents. Perfect targets for the hunters.
The mother hyena was now close to the seashore and could spot the youngest pup from a distance. But a blacked back jackal was ahead of her. So, she patiently waited behind a rock. The jackal approached the pup. But the pup had its mother with her, a formidable bodyguard protecting the baby from the predators. The mother seal was able to scare the jackal away. Losing hope, the jackal left the spot. But the mother hyena couldn’t afford to lose sight of the target. She had starving children at home.
As the seashore heated up, the bodyguards retreated to the sea. But the youngest pup couldn’t keep up with the pace of the elder seals and was left behind on the seashore alone and now unprotected. Armed with sharp teeth, even seal-pups can put up a brave fight. The mother hyena waited until the sun took its toll on the pup. Disoriented by the increasingly punishing heat, the poor pup strayed into the desert, further away from its family. It began squeaking and crying alone. She now timed her hunt to perfection and attacked the pup with a quick leap and a strong grip. The pup tried to protect itself by fighting back but alas! It was killed by a mother, desperate to feed her children.
The sun was about to set, when the mother came back to her children with a well-earned meal. The children started eating gleefully as soon as she returned. They were starving for almost three days now, and probably would have starved to death if they didn’t have food even on that day. The mother was at peace to feed her cubs and it was time to relax after the long day. The ghost town became quiet at night. The children were fast asleep and so was the mother. After a few hours of rest, a new day will begin with a new story to tell: a story of struggle and livelihood, an ongoing battle for existence. The children lost their father in the process, but the cycle of life didn’t stop there. They would become fathers and mothers to new hyenas in days to come. They would learn to hunt from their mother so that when they grow up, they can provide for their children, just like their mother did.