I became incredibly cute after dressing up as an animal!

In early March, the Maasai Mara in Kenya is unbearably hot and dry before the rainy season. Trees stand crookedly on the parched, yellow ground, and the wind blowing is scalding.

The air smelled of blood, and by the time the animal protection organization arrived in their jeep, it was too late.

Blood stained the scorched yellow grass, and more than a dozen elephants lay dead in the mud. The heat was thick with the smell of blood, and there was no sign of life.

Members of the animal protection organization broke down, some crying out loud, others hurling insults.

This is the famous Osa family, which was documented in its entirety during a two-year documentary filming trip to the animal world. They are a star family of African elephants.

However, it is precisely because of this exposure that some extremist groups have been attracted.

"These demons! Why?" The animal rights activist cried.

They received information two weeks ago that some extremist groups had entered the heart of the Maasai Mara, searching for the Osa family and intending to harm them.

They arrived as quickly as possible, during the short dry season, and the Osa family lived quite far from the edge of the grassland.

But they were still a step too late.

Six months ago, Chief Osa became pregnant at the age of sixty and gave birth to a baby male elephant, which is very likely to be Osa's last child.

They had just welcomed new life, and the entire colony had been immersed in an atmosphere of happiness for half a year. Everything was so wonderful, but now it has come to an abrupt end.

Poachers kill elephants, mostly stray male elephants, to harvest their ivory for resale.

Such a large-scale slaughter of a matrilineal elephant herd is extremely rare; it's incredibly cruel—a bunch of demons!

"Alright, stop crying, let's go take a look," said Captain Bard, who had blond hair.

From a distance, it seemed hopeless, but they didn't give up and went closer to check.

As he watched the familiar faces from the documentary fall to the ground, Bud clenched his fists.

"We've found Osa..." a female member whispered.

Before her lay the carcass of a huge female African elephant, with large ears, a long trunk, several gunshot wounds in its abdomen, congealed blood, and flies buzzing around it.

This is a great patriarch, surrounded by her children and granddaughters.

Just as humanity was immersed in grief, suddenly there was a movement behind Osa.

A six-month-old baby elephant raised its trunk and stared at them fiercely.

Badr immediately pulled Mia back. Although it was only a six-month-old elephant, if it charged, it would cause great harm to humans.

The animal protection organization members stepped back. Among them was an Asian man named Zhang Wang, the only Chinese member of the organization.

Zhang Wang, being bold, stepped forward to reassure the baby elephant: "We're not bad people, look, we didn't bring any guns."

The little male elephant's eyes darkened, and it no longer looked so fierce.

"Zhang, don't get too close," Bard said.

They communicate in English.

Zhang Wang said, "It's Osa's youngest child. It's still alive and doesn't look injured."

Bud stepped forward: "The six-month-old elephant is still nursing; we need to take it back and care for it."

Loading the baby elephant into the truck and taking it away is a problem.

Just as they were discussing how to proceed, the little male elephant suddenly turned and walked resolutely into the depths of the grassland.

Mia said anxiously, "It's gone. It was just a baby. How will it live by itself?"

Bard led his men to stop them, but the little bull elephant insisted on leaving after several attempts.

Zhang Wang said, "It has its own ideas. Since it doesn't want to go back with us, then so be it. We'll just follow it and see what happens."

Zhang Wang is the deputy captain, a very meticulous person, and also a veterinarian. Bud worked with him for a year and trusted his words completely.

During the few days he spent with the baby elephant, Zhang Wang named Osa's youngest son, the six-month-old baby elephant, Chuyi.

Bard awkwardly pronounced the name, "A Chinese name, what does it mean?"

Zhang Wang: "Its birth date is the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar."

Bud: "Your lunar calendar is amazing; I still can't figure it out."

……

At night, the temperature in the Masai Mara drops sharply, as there is a large temperature difference between day and night.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, I found a big tree to rest under.

As it lay there, it thought of its mother, Osa, and its little darling.

That's right, this time, as soon as I was born, I remembered everything—when I was a panda, when I was a puppy, all the memories were there.

This time it was an elephant. It was quite happy because it saw its mother and aunts, all of whom were tall and strong. It wanted to grow up quickly and become just as strong.

As a baby elephant less than six months old, Chu Yi walks a bit unsteadily and can't control his trunk yet, let alone go out to find little cuties.

In the first year of junior high, all I could do was drink milk and exercise, hoping to grow up quickly so I could find my little bear, my little cutie.

But unexpectedly, disaster struck.

A bunch of damned humans killed all its relatives.

It had never experienced anything like this before. It hated them. It had already remembered the smell and faces of those people. When it grew up, it would definitely take revenge.

There are two things I must accomplish in my life: one is to find Xiao Xiao and be with her forever, and the other is to take revenge.

I only understood a little bit of English when I was in the first year of junior high school, but I could understand the Chinese person in the group of people following me.

When Chu Yi heard that Zhang Wang had named himself Chu Yi, he couldn't help but marvel at how wonderful it was.

Just when the baby hadn't had milk for several days and was about to give up, the animal protection organization behind him was about to come to his rescue.

The sun came out, and a light rain began to fall from the sky—a sun shower. A rainbow arched across the grassland, and a group of enormous figures slowly approached.

African elephants are giants of the grasslands.

Mia looked through her binoculars and exclaimed, "It's the Mary family!"

When Animal World was filming elephant herds, they were choosing between the Osa family and the Mary family.

Ultimately, they chose Osa because she was pregnant at the time—a sixty-year-old getting pregnant was a story that would generate a lot of interest and discussion.

Mary's family has not welcomed a new life for many years.

If the Mary family had been chosen instead, tragedy might have befallen them.

However, a year after the Osa family was filmed on the show, grassland conservationists discovered that Mary's youngest daughter, Anan, was pregnant.

Counting the time, An'an is now more than 20 months pregnant, and the rainy season is in two months, after which the baby will be born.

For a family that hadn't had a new life for several years, it was unimaginable how happy the entire Mary family would be when this baby was born.

On the first day of the lunar month, the child was so hungry that it was dizzy. When it looked up, it saw a group of giants walking towards it. The first thing it saw was the big belly, and it had a strange feeling about it...

Its little cutie is inside this belly.

A six-month-old male elephant, almost fainting from hunger, poor thing.

Matrilineal elephant herds dislike adult male elephants, especially stray males.

When their offspring reach the age of twelve and become adults, they will drive them out, leaving only the females in the population.

But they don't dislike babies, especially such a poor little male elephant that's only six months old.

The matriarch, fifty-eight-year-old Mary, walked towards the first-year student and gently stroked its head with her nose, knowing that the child was very hungry.

In matrilineal societies, all females share the responsibility of nursing the child, regardless of whether the child is their own, their mother's, or their sister's. They all care for and feed the child.

Fortunately, a family that has not had a new life for several years is about to welcome a new life.

Mary's youngest daughter, An An, is due to give birth in about a month, and she already has colostrum.

An An took the initiative to feed the baby male elephant, showing her maternal love.

Chu Yi looked at the big pregnant woman and couldn't help but move closer, gently nudging her with the top of his head.

Its little bear, so adorable, will be back together soon.

Meanwhile, the animal protection personnel holding binoculars in the distance were incredibly excited!

Bud: "Great! First Day is saved! The Mary family has taken it in!"

……

It was warm and cozy all around, like soaking in a hot spring. Occasionally, light would filter in, but you couldn't see anything clearly.

Lan Xiaoxiao had no idea what was going on.

She couldn't even remember when she became conscious.

Although the place wasn't big, she felt very safe and loved it.

Sometimes it's a bit boring, but it's okay. She seems to sleep quite a lot, and time just passes by little by little.

Lan Xiaoxiao misses Chu Yi very much. Although she doesn't know where he is, she always feels that they will meet again.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but one day, Lan Xiaoxiao suddenly felt that the first year of junior high school was nearby, very close to her.

But she couldn't get out and didn't know how to find Chu Yi.

……

The hot, short dry season is characterized by hot days and cool nights, with a large temperature difference between day and night.

The grassland was withered and yellow, and the elephants were eating acacia leaves.

After Chief Mary finished eating, she went to an open space and used her trunk to hook a layer of dry soil onto her back, spreading the soil evenly to form a natural sunscreen.

Chu Yi followed An An, who was pregnant, all the way.

Everyone assumed it was hungry, or that the cubs were dependent on their mother.

No one knew that the little male elephant was spying on the baby elephant inside An An's belly.

The little cutie is inside, it's amazing, it can sense it.

In the first year of junior high school, she tried to emit infrasound waves to communicate with the baby in her womb, but obviously failed.

An'an really likes this baby elephant. It takes good care of Chu Yi. It slightly raises its trunk and emits soothing infrasound waves through its nasal cavity.

Chu Yi heard this and the aunt was comforting herself.

The past few days have been exceptionally hot, which means the rainy season is just around the corner.

Several jeeps followed the elephant herd in the distance, with members of an animal protection organization observing through binoculars.

"Chuyi has already integrated into this family and seems to be getting along well."

"Chief Mary and Ms. Anan are both very kind to it. They have both stroked it with their trunks. They really love the cub."

"Even Anna, who is usually mischievous and unreliable, has started taking care of the baby elephant."

Mary has four daughters: Angela, Anna, Anne, and Annie.

Mary's sons are all adults and have left the elephant herd.

The first three daughters also gave birth to children; the daughters stayed, while the sons all left.

Mary's family has not had a new life for many years.

Mary's youngest daughter, An An, is fifteen years old this year. This is her first pregnancy, and everyone is both happy and nervous.

With a rumble of thunder in the sky, dark clouds pressed down, and a torrential downpour washed away the sweltering heat of the grassland, heralding the imminent arrival of the long rainy season.

During the rainy season, life on the grasslands revives, vegetation grows vigorously, dried-up rivers flow again, and food is plentiful.

The rainy season is also the elephants' calving season.

A rumble of thunder rolled through the air, the wind suddenly turned cool, and the blades of grass began to bend in one direction.

An'an was drinking water by the river in the morning, but by noon she had walked out of the group on her own. Her pace was much slower than usual, and she would stop after a few steps, her body slightly leaning to one side.

Chief Mary noticed something was amiss, raised her nose, and turned to walk towards An An.

An'an's three older sisters immediately realized what was happening and moved accordingly. They spread out around An'an, forming a loose circle, not touching each other, but spaced a distance apart, just enough to surround An'an in the middle.

An'an had a stomachache and was obviously a little scared because it was her first time giving birth, but looking at her mother and the sisters around her, she was a little less nervous.

An'an stood still, and her front leg would bend slightly when she exerted force.

Its nose was close to the ground, its breathing was heavy, and the sound coming from deep in its throat was muffled and deep.

The surrounding elephants gradually moved in, shrinking the protective circle.

The rain was drizzling, and the elephants flapped their big ears, occasionally nudging An'an, who was giving birth, with their noses.

This is a whisper among the elephants, a low-frequency sound wave that only they can hear.

All I heard in the first year of junior high was words of comfort and encouragement.

Chu Yi stayed quietly in the circle, very well-behaved, not causing them any trouble, quietly waiting for the little cutie to be born.

Mary walked to An An's side, lowered her head, and gently touched An An's ear with her nose.

An'an looked up at her mother, her long nose wrapping around her mother's nose.

Time passed by, bit by bit.

Chu Yi's gaze pierced through the rain and landed on An An's abdomen, his ears slightly agape.

The stench of blood wafted from beneath An'an, mingling with the scent of rain and earth, carried far away by the wind.

In the distance, several African lions raised their heads and squinted at the elephant herd for a while in the grass.

An'an's body tensed up suddenly.

Its back arched, its front legs pushed hard against the ground, and its whole body was trembling.

The sound of the rain was loud, drowning out its humming, but you could see that its abdominal muscles were contracting violently with each exertion of its body.

A large gush of water gushed out from under An'an, flowing down the sloping ground and being dispersed by the rain.

Then a pair of small feet appeared between An'an's hind legs.

Grayish-white, small, curled up, then two feet, then the whole leg.

An An exerted its strength again, arching its back even higher and bending its front legs as if it were about to kneel on the ground. A dusty little body slid out of its body!

It landed on the ground, wrapped in a thin, translucent membrane that shimmered in the rain.

The amniotic sac ruptured, and amniotic fluid and blood mixed together.

Lan Xiaoxiao didn't know what was going on. All she knew was that her hot spring had suddenly burst its banks, and the surrounding area was crowded and wet, so she was squeezed out.

This process left Lan Xiaoxiao in a daze, and she gradually realized that she had been born!

So in that previous state, he was soaking in amniotic fluid!

No wonder it felt so warm and safe.

Lan Xiaoxiao didn't know what kind of animal she was. She could barely open her eyes and felt limp all over.

The newborn elephant calf has large, wet, drooping ears that are pressed against its head, with pink edges.

It didn't make a sound, but just lay quietly on the muddy ground, its body slightly curled up.

The baby has been born!