When I was young, I was made to believe that the lion is the King of the jungle. Consequently, growing up I have always seen the lion as a symbol of strength and courage. Any time I see a picture of a lion, I always see gracefulness and this reminds me of the phrase ‘King of the jungle’.
My respect for the lion was enhanced when I recently watched a documentary of a lion on Nat Geo Wild TV Channel. All my life, I thought the lion was a naturally born Killer. This is because; it is armed with three-inch canine teeth, jaws that deliver 700 pounds of suffocating power, and has a roar that is the loudest of any big cat and can be heard up to 8 km away.
However, the mighty lion that we all know is born blind and toothless. Its takes a painful period of two years for the weak defenseless cub to become the most ferocious predator on the planet. The cub has to fight to survive within this two-year period. This fight for survival starts when they are two weeks old. They fight their siblings and virtually anything that moves. It is estimated that more than half of all lions die before their first birthday. Why not? With how unfriendly (snakes, scorpions, etc.) the jungle is, if a cub is to attack anything that moves, it surely has a slim chance of survival.
Before this two years period, they are urinated upon by monkeys, bitten by snakes, stepped on by elephants, and attacked by hyenas and crocodiles. But if they manage to survive this period of intense hardship, they emerge as super predators, superbly built for the Kill.
Take a lesson from the lion:
You don’t have to be born with a golden spoon in your mouth to be great. Even if you are born with a wooden shovel in your hand, all you have to do is study your environment carefully and learn from your mistakes and that of others, and just like the mighty predator, you will dominate over the environment in which you are born. The lion is not a born skilled killer; but thanks to the state and environment in which it is born, it learns to be tough and ultimately take its place as “the King of the jungle”.
By: K.S.Kuffour (2019)
Facebook Comments