No Proof for Ferocity!

Regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and growth that occurs in certain living organisms as a response to damage to their tissues. Though not all organisms are blessed with such ability, it is definitely a wonderful asset that some creatures possess.

Starfish can grow back their lost arms, and Sponges can regenerate a missing part. Salamanders and Newts are capable of growing back their lost limbs, and even parts of their lower jaw. Spiders can grow back their missing legs. Earthworms and leeches, when cut into two after a certain number of segments, can survive, and regenerate their lost hind part.

When Flatworms are cut into pieces, each piece becomes a new worm! Sea cucumbers also can regenerate any part that is lost or damaged. Geckos and lizards can easily lose their tail when attacked, and re-grow a new one. Among mammals, Antelopes can re-grow their antlers, and African Spiny Mice are known to regenerate skin, hair, fur and cartilage.

Honey badgers are infamous for their strength, ferocity and toughness and can savagely and fearlessly attack almost any kind of animal when escape is impossible, reportedly even lions. Bee stings, porcupine quills, and animal bites rarely penetrate their skin.

It was after a very long time that something had managed to catch the attention of all the creatures living on land, in air and in the water. It was the hot topic for discussion at every place, and wherever two animals met up, they had nothing to talk of except the much publicized “Most Ferocious Creature on Earth Competition.” The birds twittered about it endlessly, and the fishes who usually stuck to their own groups made it a point to go across and talk to other sea creatures. After all, the contest was being held after a hundred years! It would be exciting.

It wasn’t just the ferocious ones who looked forward to the competition; the more gentle and weak animals had their interests too. Bets were made as to who would win the competition. The weaker ones took sides with their favourites, turning brand managers and campaigners for them, hoping for some kind of an upper hand in case their candidate won. The strongest eagle advertised his skills by soaring over the skies everyday and pouncing on unsuspecting victims mid-air; the lion and tiger roared in their respective territories, each trying to outdo the other; and the Shark snapped his jaws threateningly at anyone who came his way.

The news about the competition also reached the ears of another, much lesser-known, unpopular creature- a Honey Badger called Ferocity. Now a Honey Badger was similar to a weasel in looks, with an elongated body and black fur, with a layer of white running on its back. The Honey Badger was more interested in honey, and hadn’t thought much of the Competition till one of the bees remarked about it in despair.

“How can you steal our honey despite the stings we’re giving you?” it cried. “No one ever dares to disturb a beehive, and here you are, stubbornly attacking our reserves. No wonder you are named ‘Ferocity’! Why don’t you stop bothering us and go enroll for that silly competition instead?” the bee grumbled.

Ferocity was interested. He knew he was quite disliked by most creatures, simply because he could attack anyone or anything to feed his hunger. He wasn’t afraid of any creature, and was known to be a terror among birds, reptiles, insects and mammals alike! Now here was a good opportunity to prove to all these creatures that he was very powerful and that there was no point disliking him.

Ferocity decided to enroll for the competition. He went up to the parrot, who was taking down names. The parrot had agreed to become the coordinator for the program after a lot of convincing, as no one else had been ready to take up the job of handling terrifying, aggressive creatures which could harm them at the drop of a hat. The parrot interviewed the contestants from a safe perch on top of a tall tree, to avoid trouble.

“The contest will be next Sunday”, informed the parrot. “There will be two judges for the competition: one is an owl. The other judge will be a surprise guest.” “Never mind all that”, said Ferocity impatiently. “Tell me what exactly I am supposed to do.” “On Sunday morning, you will have to prove to the judges how ferocious you can be. How you prove it is left to you.

However, killing a creature is against the rules”, said the parrot. “What? How can I prove my ferocity without killing someone or the other?” asked the Honey Badger angrily. “I don’t know all that”, said the parrot in a hurry, anxious to get away from the furious Honey Badger. “But that’s your choice. For example, the Tiger is building up a strong base of supporters who are all going to come and vouch for him as the most ferocious animal. I don’t know if that will convince the judges. Maybe you could try the same?”

Ferocity thought about it. What could he do? He wouldn’t be able to build up a fan base because he knew what most of them thought of him. And he couldn’t kill anyone either. Probably a bite or a scratch would be allowed? Of course, he thought, smiling to himself. He had hit upon a plan.

Sunday morning dawned as usual, with everyone waiting with bated breath for the contest. Ferocity had not even bothered to acknowledge his neighbours’ wishes of good luck. He was quite confident that no tiger or lion would be able to stand up to his strategy.

He looked around, and found an earthworm wriggling on to reach the venue. “Aha! My first victim”, thought Ferocity gleefully. Without warning, Ferocity took a swipe at the earthworm with his sharp claw, cleanly cutting him in half. The earthworm now writhed in pain. “Ha ha, Mr. Earthworm”, gloated Ferocity. “Now you are the proof for my ferocity!”
Leaving the earthworm to its fate, Ferocity went on, looking for his next victim.

He bended over a pond to look at his reflection, and instead found a sponge and starfish there. Without thinking twice, he took his next two swipes at them. He cut off one of the arms of the starfish, and also a part of the sponge. “You both are going to be witnesses too!” he said, before moving away.

A little ahead, he found Mr. Lizard bouncing up and down on a leaf, enjoying the cool breeze that blew through the forest. Without warning, Ferocity pounced on the lizard and snapped his jaws at its tail. The tail got cut off, while a frightened Mr. Lizard took to his heels. “See you at the venue”, laughed Ferocity gleefully.

A spider was dangling precariously by a single string from a tree. In the blink of an eye, Ferocity caught him. The spider thought he was going to be crushed to death. Instead, Ferocity just bit off one of his legs!The Honey Badger had decided to build up his case by forcing animals to testify against him, as none of them would willfully support him in the cause to make him the most ferocious animal there.

The creatures he harmed were bound to go and complain about his aggressive behaviour, and that would convince the judges of his ferocity, he thought. By the time he reached the venue, he had bitten off a little of the wings of a bat, the forelimb of a salamander, and the claw of a crayfish.

As he was just wondering if eight was a good enough record, he spotted a mouse slowly making its way there. “One last to add to the list”, thought Ferocity, and pounced on the mouse. The mouse however was not one to give in. “How dare you?” it snarled, all the while ducking the badger’s aggressive attempts to bite. “You don’t know who I am!”

Ferocity wasn’t at all bothered. He managed to inflict a wound on the mouse’s ear, and left a noticeable hole there. The mouse scurried away in fury after inflicting an equally painful bite to the badger. “Ouch!” cried Ferocity. None of the others had stood up to him. He was quite annoyed. He still went in, and waited along with the other contestants for the judges to come in.

The first judge was an owl. He flew in, seeming quite annoyed and flustered. He didn’t seem to enjoy making any judgments during the day. He stared icily at all the participants while the announcer introduced them. “And now for our surprise judge!” cried the announcer. “Here we have, the…. Mouse!!!”

Amidst the clapping and whistles, Ferocity peered to see who it was. To his horror, he found that it was the same mouse he had attacked just a little while ago! Then he calmed down. “Well, at least he can’t deny my candidature for the event”, he sniggered.

One by one, each participant tried to prove his mettle. The Lion stood on the stage and roared, so loudly, that the entire place shook and every creature trembled. The Tiger’s cheerleader club did a song-and-dance routine while the Tiger showed off his physique. Then it was Ferocity’s turn. “Show your evidence”, said the Owl. “I have a few witnesses to call on stage”, said Ferocity haughtily, and he called out to all the creatures he had hurt that very morning.

They had no option but to come on to the stage. “And my last witness is, none other than this honourable Judge here, the Mouse”, finished the badger triumphantly. “All of them bear marks of my ferocity.”The Owl went around inspecting the animals. But to Ferocity’s surprise, none of them bore marks of his attack! The earthworm seemed to be whole; the starfish had five arms like earlier, the sponge didn’t have a part “missing”, the bat’s wings were fine, the lizard had a tail and both the salamander and the spider had all their limbs intact!

“Is this a joke, Mr. Badger?” asked the Owl coolly. “There is nothing wrong with them.”“But… but… I had maimed them… how can this be? Look at the mouse’s ear! There was a hole there after I bit it!” cried Ferocity. The mouse wiggled his ear to show that nothing was wrong with it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about”, he said. Ferocity was disqualified. The prize went to the Skunk, because it managed to scare everyone away even without having to do anything! Poor Ferocity had not realized that all the animals he had chosen to present had witnesses, knew how to grow back their body parts!