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Daniel shrugged.

“There is no evidence I know to suggest they used trees, but it is possible they hid their kills. That’s not uncommon for any predator to do, right?”

“If they can’t eat quickly enough or defend a kill.”

“Right.”

“So if that is the case, I assume that the lion is trying to outmanoeuvre the bears,” Steph said, running a hand through her hair.

“Well,” Daniel said, puffing out his cheeks momentarily. “Even a full-sized brown bear is a match for the lion… the cave bear is something else but…”

“But I get the picture,” Steph replied.

There was silence for a moment.

“Does the lion have a preferred tree?” Steph asked.

“For what?”

“For hiding kills. I mean was it the same tree you have seen these carcasses in each time?”

“Not me but Davey and Michael observed where,” Daniel replied. “They just said it was not far from where the beavers were.”

Steph nodded. She had too many things to consider now. Things were exciting – danger was excitement’s shadier partner – but a lot to handle, nonetheless.

“I suppose that’s where we should head then,” Steph replied.

TWENTY-ONE

Upon nearing the beaver lodge, Steph and Daniel came upon the wolf pack again. They had taken down one of the wild boar and were ripping at the flesh and snapping at each other. Daniel stopped the buggy.

“Why’ve you stopped?” Steph asked.

“Because of that,” Daniel replied, pointing over Steph’s left shoulder.

She turned her head to see a large brown bear lumbering forward. It stopped to survey the scene before it. The wolves seemed not to have noticed it. Deciding to make the most of this drop in focus, the bear accelerated, charging at the writhing mass of grey fur. At the last moment, it let out a yell that sent the startled wolves skittering away. Steph expected she would now see this large creature fend off the wolves and claim the kill as its own. She was wrong.

The bear, without breaking stride, ran straight at the bloody carcass and began ripping flesh from bone. The wolves gathered themselves and turned to face the creature. This all took no more than a few seconds.

“This should be interesting,” Daniel breathed.

It was. The bear, noticing the wolves rallying, began to rip ever more hungrily into the shreds of boar. Steph could not be sure, but the bear seemed to change its stance as well. Ever so subtly. It looked braced for something. Then Steph found out why.

The whole pack launched themselves simultaneously at the bear in one ferocious tsunami of fur and teeth. The bear reared up and swung out, sending one wolf flying. To Steph’s surprise, the bear returned to the kill whilst still being snapped at by the pack. It put its large front paws upon the carcass, clamped its jaws around a leg and snapped its head back. The leg ripped off.The bear turned tail and ran back from where it came, wolves falling from its flanks. At first, the wolves looked like they would try to retrieve part of their lost prize, but then turned, writing the leg off as a minor loss. They returned to their feeding as if nothing had occurred.

The wolf which had been flung so effortlessly by the bear limped over to join the rest of the pack.

Steph gripped the tranquillizer rifle a little tighter.

“There is a desperation,” she said.

“What do you mean?” Daniel asked.

“There is desperation in the animals. It’s not good. It will lead to behaviours that are generally chaotic and not completely in character. Usually, when animals act like this, there is an external pressure. It could be a drought, whatever. But it typically passes. It is expected to pass. But this…”

“There is no drought and there’s enough food as the population of deer and boar are often topped up. And there are the bison.”

“And yet some of the behaviour is frenzied.”