Lynx Story- 2: The Kittens Learn to Hunt

Part Two:The Kittens

Two moons later...

The male lynx watched worriedly as the female lynx whimpered in pain. Her babies were coming! A ripple passed along the female’s belly as she struggled to bring her kittens to life. Come on! Thought the male lynx. Your mother needs to rest! As if to answer him, five kittens, three females and two males, slithered out, one by one. The male had gone hunting earlier, but he knew the female didn’t have any strength to eat. The male lynx watched fondly as each kitten mewed for milk. The mother lynx gathered her kittens to her belly and they began suck on the milk she provided. Exhausted, the female closed her eyes and listened as the kittens' mews turned into purrs, and purrs ceased as the kittens fell asleep. When she opened her eyes again, the male lynx had disappeared. Straining to see as far as she could without waking her kittens, the mother lynx saw the male lynx' tail swish around a tree and disappear into the forest. Though she knew he had gone for good, the mother leaned out farther and she woke the youngest of her litter, Star, who started mewling. Hearing Star's mews for warmth, the other kittens, Sky, River, Wind, and Shadow started mewling too. Trying to calm her kittens down, the mother lynx started grooming them one by one. When that didn't work, she cuffed them each gently around their ears and swept them gently closer to her belly. That did the trick. The kittens stopped complaining instantly and began to suck on their mothers' milk again. Soon after, Star, Sky, River, Wind, and Shadow drifted off to sleep.

One moon later...

The mother lynx was proud to say that all of her kittens had opened their eyes. Except for Star, of course. Star was the smallest and the weakest of the litter. Still, the mother lynx loved Star dearly and would do anything to do anything to help her grow bigger and stronger. "Has Star opened her eyes yet?" Asked Shadow, the biggest, quickest, and sneakiest of the litter. "I bet you just want to show that you're the fasted of all of us." Wind panted. "Right mother?" Wind had just ran a race with Shadow, who had bragged that he was the biggest and the quickest of the litter. Wind, who was ready to show Shadow he was faster, had offered to race him. Wind could have won, but when River nipped his ear, Wind, who figured a tick had crawled into his ear, started to scratch them and wasted a lot of time. Wind had never suspected River, his sweet but cunning sister. "You'd better not start an argument." Warned Sky, the oldest of the female kittens. Sky hated arguments. "Right." Agreed their mother. "And Star will open her eyes when she's ready."Star,who had been listening all this time decided to open her eyes. With the most energy she could muster, Star forced her eyes to open in the darkness of the night. Slowly, Star's eyes adjusted to the darkness. "Hello! I've decided that I was ready to open my eyes!" Star mewed cheerfully as she turned to look at each of her litter mates. Sky, River, Wind, and...Shadow. Star's mouth fell open when she realized Shadow wasn't lying when he said he was the biggest. Shadow was at least two times Star's size! Shadow twitched his whiskers through the darkness. Clearly he was amused. "I'm big, aren't I?" Meowed Shadow. Star nodded, unable to speak. "But, this big body isn't useful for fitting through small spaces." Continued Shadow, pointing his tail at River, who had wandered off to explore a small, hollowed log near the opening of the den.

Star didn't know what happened next, but soon she had fell asleep. When Star woke up at night, her litter mates were already tumbling in the dirt. It took Star a while before she realized that they were fighting for a small bone. Star wanted to play too. She stepped into the ball of tumbling fur just as Shadow cried, "I've got it!" "And Shadow wins again." Muttered Wind. Then Wind spotted a rabbit. He quickly darted after it, but didn't catch it. "Mother!" Complained Wind. When are you going to teach us how to hunt?" "Soon I will." Promised their mother. "One moon later I will." Star couldn't wait. Neither could her litter mates. The rest of the moon continued like this: Wake up, play fight, Shadow wins, grooming, suck milk, explore, grooming, suck milk, sleep, wake up...The next moon passed slowly. Finally, it was over. "Teach us how to hunt!" Chorused the kittens excitedly. "Teach us! Teach us!" "Okay! Okay!" Sighed their mother. She yawned. "First, open your mouth and..." "Like yawning?" Interrupted Star. "Yes." Agreed her mother. "Open your mouth and taste the air." The kittens did what they were told. "What do you smell?" Asked their mother. "I..I smell the leaves and grass. "Meowed Star uncertainly. "Wait! There's something else...Rabbits! And squirrels!" "What?" Asked Shadow. "How come I don't smell anything?" "Use your mouth, not your nose." Advised Sky." I can also smell birds. Blue jays!" She told Star. "Birds are harder to catch." Their mother told them. "But you can always try." "I smell rabbits!" Wind meowed, excited. "I smell fish!" Meowed River. "Me too!" Added Shadow, not wanting to be left out. "Okay." Meowed the mother. "First you stalk your prey, then you..." Wind shot off like a rocket. "Follow me!" He meowed. "Darn!" The other kittens heard the muffled meow of Wind. "Now you've scared off all the prey twenty tail lengths from here!" Complained Sky. "As I was saying." Meowed the mother lynx. "First you stalk your prey, then you crouch into the hunting crouch..." Their mother demonstrated, and her kittens copied her. "Next, you move as close as you can without rustling the dry leaves." Continued their mother in a low voice, looking around. "And finally...you...POUNCE!!!" The mother lynx pounced on a snowshoe hare that was listening curiously to cat-talk. She killed it with one clean bite on the neck. Star shuddered. Still, she knew she had to eat. She approached the meal with the other kittens. It smelled like a good meal. Though Shadow ate most of it, Star still enjoyed every meaty bite. Suddenly, Wind appeared. "Hey guess what?" He asked. "I CAUGHT A RABBIT!!!" "Wow!" Star admired her brother. The other kits set out almost immediately. Sky caught two birds, River caught three fish, Wind ate his rabbit, and Shadow found carrion. For Star, hunting came naturally. It felt great! Star caught a snowshoe hare, a fish, a meadow vole, and even three birds! Star's mother was very proud. "You make a great hunter." She said fondly. "We'll have a feast!" Meowed Shadow happily, who wasn't quite satisfied with his carrion. "Lynx don't share their prey. That's the way of life for us." Meowed their mother. Shadow's face fell. "But." Continued his mother as her face broke into a cat smile. "If Star wants to share with us, she will." Shadow looked at Star expectantly. "Yes." Decided Star. "I will share." And so they had a feast.