Mark, 35 years old.
As a wildlife photographer specializing in the African wilderness, he had spent 15 years capturing everything the savannah had to offer.
Lion hunts, elephant marches, cheetah sprints in this harsh land where life and death intersect.
There was almost nothing he hadn’t witnessed.
But today was different.
Under the scorching midday sun, Mark was sipping water in the shade of an acacia tree, scouting his next shooting location.
But then, about 200 meters away, something moving in the bushes caught his eye.
The moment he instinctively raised his telephoto lens and zoomed in, Mark’s hands froze.
On the screen was a young male lion.
Nothing but skin and bones staggering forward.
And around its torso was a black tire wedged tight.
In 15 years of experience, it was an unbelievable sight he had never seen before.
The lion took a few steps, then stopped, swaying as if about to collapse.
It gasped for breath.
After a moment, it struggled to move forward again.
It looked like a living corpse, squeezing out its last bit of strength to move.
Mark approached cautiously.
The closer he got, the more horrific the situation became.
The lion was so emaciated that its ribs were clearly visible, and the fur around the tire’s edge was patchy and missing, but the skin beneath crushed and compressed.
The lion didn’t threaten Mark at all as he approached.
Rather, it simply gazed at Mark with pleading eyes, as if begging for help.
Mark knelt down and examined the tire closely.
The rubber surface was cracked with age, and when he looked inside, it was filled with dirt, hardened like stone.
“How on earth? How did this happen?” Mark muttered in disbelief.
Time rewinds to two years ago.
On a golden prairie bathed in warm afternoon sunlight.
An adolescent curious young male lion was playing with other cubs from the pride.
Then something black and round caught their attention among the bushes.
It was a discarded tire secretly dumped by humans.
The cubs rolled it, pounded it, and played by sticking their heads in and out.
It was fun.
The young male lion also repeatedly stuck his head in and out.
It went in and came out easily.
His curiosity grew even stronger, and this time he decided to try putting his torso in as well.
He put his front paws in first and slowly pushed his body through when suddenly the tire contracted with elastic force and squeezed his torso tight.
The young lion panicked and struggled to get out, but the tire only tightened more.
The terrified young lion’s scream like cry echoed across the prairie.
Hearing that sound, the mother lioness came running.
Seeing her young one’s horrific state, she immediately bit the tire with her powerful jaws.
Her teeth dug into the rubber.
She pulled with all her might, but the rubber’s elasticity only bounced back her force.
Two other lionesses from the pride also rushed over and bit and pulled together, but it was useless.
The young lion cried out in pain all night long, and the mother kept trying until sunrise, but the tire wouldn’t move.
As days passed, and weeks went by, the young lion grew, but the tire remained the same.
It tightened more and more.
He couldn’t run properly, and hunting practice became impossible.
Even when going on pride hunts, he only got in the way.
He was becoming a burden to the pride.
Several months later, the pride’s leader male made a decision.
With threatening roars, he tried to drive the young male lion out of the pride.
The mother lioness stood in front of her young one and bared her teeth at the male.
But the leader’s threat was even more powerful.
The mother had no choice but to step back.
One step, two steps.
Eventually, the lion pride left, abandoning the young male alone.
The mother lionist also had to move with the pride.
Otherwise, both mother and young lion would surely lose their lives.
The young male watched his departing mother with sad eyes until the very end.
From that day on, hell began for the young male lion.
Without hunting abilities, he barely survived on rotting carcasses left behind by hyenas and vultures.
As time passed, dirt accumulated inside the tire, and it grew heavier and heavier.
When sleeping, his torso floated in the air because of the tire with only his head touching the ground.
He had to sleep with his neck bent.
As he grew, his ribs tried to expand, but the tire blocked them.
The bones curved inward and his spine deformed.
Even breathing became agony.
The lion was barely surviving this agonizing life.
Perhaps the lion wished for death.
But he survived only by instinct.
And so after 2 years of suffering, the lion was accidentally discovered by Mark.
Mark took a water bottle from his backpack and slowly approached the lion.
He poured some water on the ground, but the lion couldn’t properly lower its head because of the tire.
Mark cupped water in his palm and held it near the lion’s mouth.
The lion barely moved its tongue to lap it up.
He made an emergency call to the wildlife rescue team via satellite phone.
After transmitting the GPSÂ coordinates, the response came that it would take at least an hour.
“Please hurry.
This lion doesn’t seem to have much time” Mark urged urgently.
And so, in the middle of the savannah, the lion with the tire wedged around its body, waited for the rescue team under Mark’s protection.
Had about 30 minutes passed, Mark listened to a faint sound coming from the distance.
It sounded like wind, but it was definitely an animal’s cry.
Mark zoomed his camera toward the sound.
Hyenas.
About a dozen hyenas were approaching, sniffing with their noses.
They had caught the scent of the dying lion.
The encirclement was closing in.
The hyenas bearing their teeth as they approached had life in their eyes.
They seemed excited at the thought of tasting fresh meat after a long time.
Mark looked around.
There was nowhere to hide with the lion, nowhere to escape.
Mark pondered.
If he left the lion alone like this, it would certainly become prey for the hyenas.
But if he waited here together, it was only a matter of time before he too became prey for the hyenas.
He needed to find a way.
Suddenly, Mark thought of his camera drone.
He quickly rummaged through his bag and pulled out the camera drone.
With trembling hands, he assembled it and turned on the controller power.
The drone made a sound and rose into the air.
Mark rapidly charged the drone between the hyenas, confusing them.
The hyenas panicked at the unfamiliar creature and couldn’t approach any further.
Then he fired the emergency flare attached to the drone.
The flare flew through the air, spewing red smoke and hit the body of one hyena precisely.
The hit hyena screamed and backed away.
The other hyenas also scattered in surprise.
Mark didn’t stop and continued to aggressively maneuver the drone.
LED lights flashed and burst, and the propellers made earpiercing sounds.
The hyenas fell into complete chaos from the unpredictably moving drone.
Eventually, the hyenas retreated 50m away, but they didn’t leave completely.
They continued to circle from a distance, looking for an opportunity.
Mark landed the drone and changed the battery.
They could attack again at any moment.
In about 10 minutes, the rescue team would arrive.
Mark remained vigilant and waited while caring for the lion.
He sat beside the lion and continued to supply water.
The lion’s breathing was still weak, but it didn’t give up.
From the distance, a cloud of dust rose with a blaring siren as the rescue team arrived.
Dr.
Sarah, a veteran veterinarian in her 40s, and two rescue team members, jumped out and hurriedly unloaded their equipment.
Dr.
Sarah was impressed by Mark’s drone operation and said it was appropriate first aid that Mark had continuously supplied water.
Dr.
Sarah immediately approached the lion and placed a stethoscope on the lion’s chest.
After a few seconds, her expression hardened seriously.
The heart rate was too weak and the body temperature was 2° lower than normal.
Dr.
Sarah collected a small amount of blood from the lion’s hind leg with a field blood test kit and dropped it into the reagent.
The color changed.
Severe dehydration, malnutrition, and infection were also progressing.
Dr.
Sarah carefully observed the tire and tried to shake it with her hands, but it wouldn’t budge.
When a rescue team member slid a portable digital scale under the tire, the numbers on the screen flickered and stopped, 20 kg.
This meant it had been carrying this for 2 years.
After a brief team meeting, Dr.
Sarah reached a conclusion.
Prep the strong sedatives couldn’t be used.
Only a minimum dose of sedative could be administered and most of the work had to be done while the lion was awake.
It was dangerous, but it was better than the heart stopping from sedatives.
When the sedative was administered, the lion’s eyes closed halfway.
Dr.
Sarah put on thick veterinary gloves and reached her hands inside the tire to begin carefully digging out the hardened dirt clumps.
The lion growled lowly, but it wasn’t aggressive.
It was just an anxious sound.
During 30 minutes of work, the rescue team members handed over small shovels and tongs.
What came out of the tire was shocking.
Stone, hard dirt, broken twigs, dried feces, dead insect carcasses, even maggots.
After removing 7 to 8 kg of debris, the tire became a bit lighter, but it was still stuck to the lion’s body.
Dr.
Sarah took out a large syringe and medical lubricant.
She found a tiny gap between the tire and the skin, pushed the syringe in, and injected lubricant.
Dr.
Sarah, two rescue team members, and Mark.
All four grabbed both sides of the tire, and pulled upward in unison.
The tire moved.
It rose about 5 cm.
Hope appeared, but when it reached the widest part of the ribs, it stopped completely.
The lion groaned in pain and twisted its body.
Dr.
Sarah immediately ordered a halt.
The ribs could break.
For a while, they only looked at each other’s faces in deep silence.
Dr.
Sarah exhaled deeply.
Cutting was the only option.
A rescue team member brought a batterypowered electric cutter with a diamond blade from the vehicle.
Dr.
Sarah examined the tire.
Steel wires were embedded inside the rubber.
Hydraulic cutters couldn’t be used because the pressure was too strong and could break the ribs.
If the lion moved even slightly, it could suffer serious injuries.
Someone was needed to stabilize and hold the lion.
Then Mark stepped forward.
He said he would hold the lion.
It was dangerous, but there was no other way.
Dr.
Sarah looked into Mark’s eyes and slowly nodded.
Mark hugged the lion’s head and front chest as if embracing it.
“Starting now,” Dr.
Sarah announced.
A sharp mechanical sound crossed the savannah.
Dr.
Sarah carefully placed the blade against the tire.
The rubber began to be cut.
Black dust flew.
The moment the blade touched the steel wire, sparks flew everywhere.
The lion thrashed in terror.
The lion’s claws scratched Mark’s arm, leaving Marks.
But Mark didn’t let go.
Dr.
Sarah didn’t stop.
Though her hands trembled, she precisely controlled the cutter.
After 15 minutes, the first side was completely cut.
Work began on the opposite side.
This time, the lion barely reacted.
Finally, the last part was cut through.
The tire fell to the ground.
Everyone held their breath and looked at the lion.
The exposed torso was horrific.
The fur was gone.
The skin was necrotic.
And the ribs had deep grooves carved in the shape of the tire.
Dr.
Sarah immediately poured disinfectant.
And the rescue team members applied antibiotic ointment, administered injections, and IV fluids.
All treatment was completed.
The lion slowly inflated its chest.
Deeply, fully, it drew in breath.
A faint vitality returned to the lion’s eyes.
10 minutes later, the lion moved.
It tried to stand.
It fell twice.
But on the third attempt, it stood up, staggering, its legs trembling.
But it stood.
For the first time in 2 years, it stood freely on all four legs without the tire.
It was when Mark and the rescue team members began packing up their equipment.
Dr.Sarah listened to a sound coming from the distance.
It was a familiar cry.
Hyenas.
The hyenas they had chased away with the drone earlier had returned.
About a dozen hyenas were slowly closing in.
This time, more carefully, more persistently.
They bared their teeth and emitted low growls.
The rescue team members hurriedly began searching for tranquilizer guns and equipment.
Then the young male lion staggered to his feet.
He barely stood in front of Mark on his weak legs.
He growled lowly.
He was trying to protect Mark, but his body, weakened by 2 years of suffering, trembled, and his breathing was labored.
He was in no condition to fight properly.
The hyenas sensed this.
They approached more boldly.
30m, 20m.
One rescue team member loaded a tranquilizer gun, but it wasn’t enough to stop all dozen hyenas.
Mark’s heart pounded rapidly.
The hyenas approached to within 15m.
They were about to attack.
The young male lion roared with all his might, but his voice was weak and his body swayed.
Right at that moment, a powerful roar echoed from behind a rock about 70m away.
The hyenas froze instantly.
From behind the rock, a lioness slowly walked out.
Muscular body, sharp eyes, threatening posture, a completely different presence.
The lioness ran swiftly and charged between the hyenas.
She struck one with her front paw.
The hyena screamed and tumbled away.
The other hyenas scattered, but the lioness didn’t stop.
She charged at another one.
She threatened them, bearing her fangs.
The hyenas completely retreated.
50m, 100m.
Eventually, they disappeared into the distance.
The rescue team members quietly breathed the sigh of relief.
The lioness slowly turned around.
She stared at the young male lion.
A long, deep silence passed.
The young male lion slowly raised his head to look at the lioness, and their eyes met.
The lioness’s tense posture gradually relaxed.
She lowered her stance and approached carefully, very carefully.
She put her nose to the young male lion and began sniffing his face, neck, and body.
She licked his neck and carefully licked his wounded torso.
The lioness was the young lion’s mother.
Mark felt his heart swell as he watched the scene.
Something suddenly occurred to him, and he quickly pulled out his camera, removed the SD card, and began checking it on a small monitor.
As he rapidly scrolled through photos taken in this area over the past 3 months, he discovered the silhouette of a lioness faintly captured in the background of one photo.
In other photos too, again and again, the same lioness was always circling this area from a distance.
Even after being driven from the pride, the mother couldn’t leave this place even for a single day.
She couldn’t leave her young one’s side.
She couldn’t be with him, but she wanted to watch over him from afar.
For two long years, the mother had been circling this area alone, surviving only by confirming whether her young one was alive, whether he was okay.
The reason the hyenas only circled from a distance and couldn’t approach again.
And the reason she appeared now at this moment of crisis to save her young one, it was all because this mother had never left, watching over him for two full years.
After the lioness finished licking her young one, she slowly stood up and the young lion also stood up, staggering.
Finally, after a long wait, the mother could be with her young one.
Two years of painful time had ended.
Now mother and young lion could walk together again.
Together they crossed the golden prairie, passed between acacia trees, and walked toward the hill.
Whenever the young lion stumbled, the mother stopped and waited.
Mark raised his camera and captured the final moments through the telephoto lens.
The backs of the two lions walking together, disappearing over the hill.
Mark’s hands trembled as he pressed the shutter.
He lowered the camera and quietly sighed.
Dr.Sarah placed her hand on Mark’s shoulder.
She said he hadn’t simply saved one lion, but had reunited a family.
Mark didn’t answer.
He just looked at the hill where the two lions had disappeared.
A mother’s love never gave up.
Not two years of time, not banishment from the pride, not hunger, not loneliness.
Nothing could break it.
And that love today was finally rewarded.
If you enjoyed this story, please subscribe and like.
Your small interest is the power that creates more touching stories.
Thank you.
