The outcast

I go there the whole 75 day gestation period. I'm there the morning they are born, i waited for four weeks for them to emerge from the burrows for the first time and i'm there every afternoon to see if all of them come back from foraging for the day. I am sometimes there to see a predator take one of my baby,s, i stand by helplessly when a cobra is down in the burrows killing a whole generation of baby's. Yes it is a cruel world where i can get attached but i cannot interfere.

This week one of the girls are going through one of the toughest experiences and there is nothing i can do about it.

She was born 25th January 2010, one of five girls and one boy, a larger than normal batch of baby's. Normally there is between 3 to 5 baby's.

All six survived well for 6 months when the first girl were taken by a predator. I was not there so i did not know what happen, but she did not make it back home that night.

Three weeks ago a strange male came through the area and two days later one of the girls followed him and is now starting a new family somewhere.

It is tough but i know she has a companion and she is not alone.

But Wednesday afternoon when i got there for my afternoon watch i saw one of the girls standing alone far up the slope to the west of the territory, witch was not unusual because there is always someone on guard but usually the swap guard duty within an hour. But she was just standing there watching the rest of the family the whole afternoon. At sun down when everyone was at the burrows she came down to join them, but obviously she has met a young male somewhere trough the day and there was some strange smells on her.

Moner (the dominant male and her father) Started attacking her very viciously and started biting her and cent marking her. The whole family turned on her and she were forts to flee for her life.

She has been sleeping on her own for the last three nights, But i am watching her and hoping she would rejoin the family the moment the sent from the strange male has faded.