*Siberia, 10,000 years ago...
Two snowmobiles drifted over a vast frozen lake ringed by mighty mountains. On its shores was a seemingly endless ocean of green trees. Aside from the howling winds and the calls of various arctic birds, the land was eerily silent.
Here in the lce Age, the warming of the climate has already changed this world. What once was rich, open grassland covered in grazing mammoths has now been invaded by dense forest.
This is no place for a mammoth. Finding the last ones left alive is not going to be easy.
After what felt like an eternity, the snowmobiles stopped in the middle of a snow-covered clearing, surrounded by various conifer trees like spruce, pines, and firs just to name a few.
"We've gone for miles in this forest, it just seems so limitless," said Fluttershy, taking in the scenery.
"The climate's warming and weevil beetles can survive on pine needles, but a six-ton mammoth, no way, there's just not enough nutrition," added Nigel.
"We're seeing the beginnings of the taiga, or boreal forest, the largest land biome in the world," Fluttershy informed. "It stretches throughout the high northern latitudes."
It's this lack of good food that's brought the mammoth population to its knees. It looks like there’s nothing but trees here.
The two had fewer options but to move on, pushing deeper into the woods.
But at last, the duo finds something to break the monotony: A prehistoric cave they can’t resist exploring.
After leaving their snowmobiles parked close by, the two approached the mouth of the cave. Just then, a low, rumbling snarl echoed throughout the cavern. The duo slowly backed out of the mouth of the cave.
"No sudden moves." cautioned Nigel. Another growl could be heard bouncing off the cave walls before a huge, hairy figure emerged from the shadows. Soon, the beast let out a thundering roar.
The duo has chosen the wrong creature to disturb.
As the beast let out another almighty roar, Nigel and Fluttershy made a hasty retreat, tripping and tumbling over the snow. Knowing that the ill-tempered brute would overtake them in the time it would take to reach the snowmobiles, they bolted for the trees.
Cave lions reach 11 feet long, and weighing up to 800 pounds, they’re animals not to be messed with!
Moments later, the monstrous lion gave chase!
"Get moving!" Nigel urged. They could hear the huffing breath of the colossus, the snapping of twigs and branches as he crashed through the undergrowth, water splashing as he ran through a shallow puddle.
"Split up! He can't follow us both!" shouted Fluttershy, willing herself not to look back as the massive bruin was gaining on them!
Nigel quickened his pace as the lion was literally at his heels. "Run! Run! Drop the camera if you have to! Just move, move, move! MOVE!"
The cameraman was not so lucky; the cave lion succeeded in tripping over his prey, and there was nowhere to run. With a terrifying roar, he brought his paw down in one tremendous swipe.
Then everything faded to black.
Prehistoric cave lions may be huge, but luckily, they can't climb trees.
The screen was hazy at first as the cameraman regained consciousness, dazed and disoriented but very much alive.
"There you are, I'm up here!" came Nigel's voice from overhead. The camera was pointed upwards to reveal the zoologist perched among the branches of a spruce tree, too high for even the cave lion to reach. "I'm sorry about that," he said apologetically as he made his way down. "I was sure they were extinct...at this time." Cupping his hands to his mouth, the Englishman called out into the wilderness, "Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Where are you?"
"Over here!" came the reply from Fluttershy as she clambered down from a nearby tree. "What an exciting find! A surviving cave lion!" She exclaimed. "We've got to go and see it."
Nigel agreed, albeit more cautiously. "I hear you, mate. But we definitely need to be more careful. And as long as we don't startle it, it won't charge again."
Having decided, the duo slowly retraced their steps back towards the cave. They were quiet and extremely careful in their approach, careful to keep downwind, lest they startle the lion upon the slightest sound or scent. The lion in question lingered for a while in the clearing, occasionally sniffing the air as if to make sure that the two interlopers did well to stay away.
"There he is," Nigel whispered. "I can tell he's a male cave lion. The female has much smaller proportions."
"Looks like a juvenile," the animal enthusiast interjected quietly. “they're much bigger than modern-day lions, with a less impressive mane and thicker fur to live in the Ice Age.”
"I'm certain he was resting in that cave and as for hunting us," said the English naturalist. "He wasn’t doing that. It’s because we disturbed him, that's why he chased us.”
"Guess somebody woke up on the wrong side of the cave," Fluttershy remarked before she heaved a heavy sigh. "Sad to think that he might be the last of his kind."
Nigel frowned in understanding. "Yeah. Cave lions won't be around for much longer. Best we move on."
Nigel can't save every endangered animal he finds, so this time he lets sleeping lions lie. But Mother Nature has other plans for the lion.
While Nigel and Fluttershy boarded their snowmobiles, they soon heard the sounds of panting and heaving as they turned to face it. The lion looked like it was about to collapse. There was a brief wobble in the cave lion's front legs, and with a weakened growl, Fluttershy noticed a rather important detail, and her eyes widened. "Nigel," she whispered, "Look at his left side."
Nigel did so, and his eyes widened as he saw a vicious-looking gash. "Poor thing. From the looks of it, it was probably an elk."
Then things got worse, with one last growl and, the cave lion collapsed onto the snowy slope, at least an inch or so away from the cave entrance, groaning in defeat.
With no energy left and weakened from the disturbance, this cave lion is on the verge of death. That is if Fluttershy has anything to say about it.
Before Nigel could say anything, Fluttershy dismounted her snowmobile and calmly made her way over to the exhausted cave lion, immediately beginning to speak as she did so.
"It's alright," she said, her voice soft and soothing. "Everything's alright now. I'm gonna have a look at you and then send you somewhere safe..."
The lion snarled, his yellow eyes remaining narrowed and his head briefly leaning forward as if to try to startle Fluttershy into backing away, but then slightly winced as if the movement had aggravated his wound. "Now, now, it's alright, it's alright," Fluttershy said, just barely managing to avoid losing her soft and soothing tone while also slowly making her way towards the lion. "I'm not going to hurt you."
For what felt like an eternity, Fluttershy continued slowly making her way towards the lion, speaking calmly and soothingly the entire time to ensure that the lion was hopefully calmed down as well and would have little reason to feel the need to attack. The lion snarled a couple more times but finally calmed down enough to let Fluttershy place her hand gently upon its brow. As Fluttershy stood still with her right hand firmly upon the lion's furry forehead, the lion panted heavily in a mixture of caution, curiosity, and exhaustion. "There, there," Fluttershy said soothingly, her voice miraculously hiding her nervousness, "Everything's ok. You'll be safe now. I promise. Just relax and stay calm. You'll be taken very good care of real soon. I can assure you of that." The lion snarled one more time, his yellow eyes narrowed once more before he relaxed. She looked over the feline and back to Nigel. "He’s too weak to move. He'll freeze to death out here."
"I'm guessing that means he's going to the park?" Nigel said.
Fluttershy just nodded her head.
A few minutes later, Suzanne was all bundled up and standing by the cave lion, with a similarly bundled-up clad Sunset and Rainbow standing at either side of her, the former for veterinary assistance and the latter for defense just in case the Ice Age pantherine tried to attack, with the portal glowing and reflecting behind them. Suzanne nodded her head as she continued examining the big cat.
"He needs treatment – urgently."
"Couldn't agree more," said Rainbow Dash. She shivered. "Sheesh," she hissed. "I'm freezing out here."
"Join the club," Sunset grumbled, her teeth gritted and visibly chattering.
Suzanne looked to Nigel and Fluttershy. "Think you two could help us get him loaded?"
Nigel nodded. "Absolutely."
And so, Suzanne, Sunset, Rainbow, Nigel, and Fluttershy, plus two other Prehistoric Park veterinary personnel proceeded to load the exhausted cave lion onto a large heavy-duty stretcher and carried him the short distance between them and a veterinary truck waiting immediately at the entrance of the open portal. Once the Ice Age lion had been loaded, the back door of the truck was closed, and Suzanne, Sunset, and Rainbow boarded the driver's section. Before they left, Suzanne peeked out the driver's side window and looked at Fluttershy and Nigel. "Don't worry," she said. "I'll make sure he gets all the care he needs."
And at that, she got back into the truck and got the vehicle moving. Once the truck had disappeared through the fabric of time, Fluttershy closed the portal.
"Let's get a move on, shall we?" Nigel said with finality as he packed up the portal rods. "If we're lucky, the cave lion won't be the only animal we bring back to Prehistoric Park."
With the cave lion safely transported back to the present, it's time to get back to business on finding a mammoth.
