My Words Are a Matter of Pride
I've heard it all before. We're just slobbering, mangy, stupid poachers. A hyena with half a brain is considered gifted. Go ahead and hate us if you want. We're used to it by now.
Long, long ago, in times even Rafiki would consider ancient, lions and hyenas were equal. Neither was in authority over the other, and neither had any reason to fear the other's presence, for these two species were friendly toward each other at all times. Hyena cubs had no reason to hide in dens to avoid lions, and lion cubs did not tremble in the presence of hyenas.
One day, a problem came to that archaic savanna, destroying the idea of a natural paradise. Some claim the problem was famine while others believe it was a fire or the invasion of human beings, but it happened so long ago that no one is really sure. No matter what the difficulty was, the threat was so great that everyone on the grassland panicked. One lion, Uhodari, met with a certain hyena, Akili, to discuss a solution.
"I have the answer," Akili stated after they had pondered the situation, "but it will require great courage."
After Akili explained his idea, Uhodari replied, "It is a brilliant plan! I will take it upon myself to put this clever idea of yours into action!"
At great risk to himself, Uhodari successfully carried out Akili's plan, thus saving everyone on the savanna. That's when the real trouble began, a trouble so great that the previous threat dimmed in comparison.
Uhodari was admiring his reflection in the waterhole one day. "I am fearless. I have saved my homeland. My mane is handsome enough to befit such a mighty warrior. All will look up to me in admiration and bless the names of my descendants until the end of time. Out of gratitude for my greatness, all should serve me."
He began on a small scale. His first task was asking that everyone pay tribute to him so he could keep up his strength "in case another terrible disaster should strike our pristine home." Gradually he became bored with small tribute and demanded that everyone treat him as their king and obey all his commands. No one dared argue with him, for even an elephant is at risk when confronting a group of lions. The tyrant Uhodari was the first lion king. He taught his sons and daughters that lions were better than all other animals, so they were royalty. Although not cruel, his children believed him. Uhodari's descendants have been ruling over the rest of us ever since. So great was their ancestor's vanity that everyone began calling a group of lions a "pride," and the area where they spent most of their time naturally came to be known as the "Pride Lands" while Uhodari's throne came to be called "Pride Rock." In fact, Uhodari even believed that the stars were past lions who had been admired for their prominence!
Akili was the complete opposite. He sought no reward for his part in saving the savanna, and he had no wish to lord over anyone. For a time, he even willingly submitted to Uhodari's kingship. One day when Uhodari was feeling especially pompous, the king made a speech about the terrible qualities of hyenas.
"My subjects," the lion tyrant began, "you must have nothing to do with hyenas. They are ugly. They do not have beautiful manes, such as the one I have. They do not have loud roars like mine. They are the sorriest creatures on the planet, and they are lowdown scavengers!"
I would pause for the briefest moment to explain that while we do scavenge sometimes, we hyenas are actually capable hunters. In fact, it's more common for lions to steal our meat than for us to steal theirs. The rumor that we're too lazy to hunt got started when a lion took some food from hyenas. When a human being noticed the hyenas waiting to get their meal back, the human thought it was the lion's meal and the hyenas were the thieves. (I despise human beings, but that's another story.)
Everyone becomes angry if you spread false rumors about them, and Akili was no exception. Although he was the docile, forgiving sort, Akili stopped associating with Uhodari. When other hyenas heard what lions were saying about them, they killed the youngest lion cub to show that hyenas still had some form of power. Naturally, the lions were furious and retaliated. The two species have been at war ever since. Our battles have continued for so many centuries that no one really remembers how they started. (I only know because I spent nearly a decade trying to find out the truth, and I finally succeeded last year.) Everyone knows our two species are destined to hate each other forever, for how can a conflict this great and this long-standing ever be laid to rest?
Even to this day, we hyenas have a horrible reputation, thanks to the false rumors that have been taught since the days of King Uhodari. When I was a cub, the other animals treated me as an outcast.
"Look!" a mother leopard would whisper to her own cub. "That's a hyena! Remember how we talked last night about how hyenas are sniveling cowards who are not to be trusted?"
"Bloodthirsty creature!" a serval exclaimed as I walked by. "We all have to kill to survive. That's just the way nature intended things to be, but you do more than that! You murder for no reason and kill more than you can eat!"
I never understood why we were so hated, not only by lions, but by other creatures as well. Jackals and birds of prey attack meerkats more often than hyenas do, and a lion or leopard would also eat a captured meerkat, yet I can still hear that song haunting my nightmares, the song that seems to be a favorite of all meerkats.