বাংলা | Epaper

বাংলা E-Paper 📍 Dhaka 📅 Saturday | 1 August 2026, 17 Srabon 1433

HEADLINE

● GPS to be implemented in public transport from Aug 1 ● PM inspects Dhaka north city roads, emphasizes cleanliness ● One more dies of Dengue, 153 hospitalized in 24hrs ● US Special Envoy Sergio Gor visits Rohingya camps ● India denies Hasina opportunity for political activities on its soil ● Rohingya boat capsizes off Teknaf: 18 rescued, 13 missing ● Govt plans 3rd-phase solar project for full electrification in hill tracts

Coco’s Star Kingdom

Published : Saturday, 1 August, 2026 at 12:00 AM

ARNAB ASHRAF

In the late 1970s, deep within the heart of the Kalahari Desert, a mysterious valley emerged from the endless wilderness - Deception Valley. Miles upon miles stretched out with nothing but grey dust storms, thorn bushes, and scorching sands. In this ancient landscape, American wildlife scientists Delia and Mark Owens entered a world few humans had ever truly understood - the hidden lives of brown hyenas.

This is the story of an ancient kingdom of brown hyenas: The Star Kingdom. At its heart was a mother, her three cubs, and an extraordinary destiny etched across the sands of the desert.

In this forgotten corner of Earth, wildlife researchers Delia and Mark Owens studied one of Africa’s most misunderstood animals: The brown hyena.

Their discovery was not simply the story of a predator surviving in a harsh environment.
This was the story of a family.
A mother named Star.
Three fragile cubs.
And a kingdom waiting to be reborn.

The Kalahari sunrise painted the desert gold as Star moved through her territory.

She was the heart of her clan, an experienced female brown hyena whose presence represented stability, protection, and belonging. To her cubs, she was not merely a mother. She was their entire world.

But beyond the ancient laws of the wild existed another force - the increasing conflict between wildlife and human settlements surrounding the desert.

While searching for food, Star crossed beyond the safety of her familiar territory. Somewhere beyond the protection of her den, tragedy struck, and Star failed to return.

Hidden beneath the desert floor, inside their underground den, three young cubs waited for a mother who would never come back.

The disappearance of Star created a crisis.

In the darkness of the den, three young lives faced the oldest challenge in nature: Survival.

Toffee, the strongest and most confident cub, pushed forward first.

Cocoa, caught between his older brother’s dominance and his younger sister’s vulnerability, struggled to find his place.

And Coco - smallest and only female - faced the greatest challenge.

Without their mother’s protection and regular guidance, the cubs had to depend on instinct, each other, and the fragile opportunities the desert provided.

Every meal was a battle. Every drop of water was precious. Every moment carried the question that defines all life in the wilderness: Who will endure?

When Delia Owens discovered the cubs’ situation, she faced a difficult choice.

A scientist must respect the independence of wild animals. Yet this tragedy was not created by the natural order of the desert �" it was connected to the growing pressure created by human activity.

During the silent hours of the night, beneath a sky filled with countless stars, Delia began a careful mission. She approached the den without lights, without noise, and without leaving behind a human presence that could alter the cubs’ natural development. Food was placed near the den. But Delia noticed something important.

The strongest cubs always reached the food first. Coco was being left behind. So the desert gained a secret guardian. Hidden away from the stronger siblings, small portions of food gave Coco a second chance to survive. Guided by scent alone, Coco discovered these hidden gifts. A tiny act of compassion became the bridge between life and death.

Years passed.

The seasons crossed the Kalahari like chapters in an ancient book.

The once helpless cubs slowly transformed into independent adult brown hyenas, carrying the memories and lessons of their early struggle.

Then came the moment every wild animal must face: The call to leave home.

Toffee and Cocoa eventually disappeared into the vast wilderness, following the ancient instinct of their species - searching for new territories, new clans, and new beginnings.

Coco remained.

The forgotten cub had become the guardian of her own future.

She carried the memory of her mother, Star, not through revenge or anger, but through survival. One day, the winds of the Kalahari carried a new scent across the valley. A wandering male followed the invisible message written in the air.

And beneath the endless African sky, a new chapter began.

The little cub who once fought for every meal became a mother herself, protecting a new generation beneath the same desert stars that had watched over Star. At the entrance of the old den, Coco rested beside her own newborn cubs.

The daughter of Star had become the mother of a new generation. The kingdom had returned. Not through power. Not through conquest. But through resilience.

This was Coco’s Star Kingdom.

And the Kalahari whispered a truth understood by every ecosystem on Earth: Life always finds a way. Where one story ends, another begins. And every creature - from the smallest cub to the greatest wilderness -is part of the same fragile, magnificent kingdom.

The writer is a journalist