Sunlight pierced the shifting branches bordering the clearing, forming shimmering pin-pricks of gold on her sleek brown fur. Yellow eyes fixed on him impassively, her soft, leather-like nose twitching gently, she inhaled his scent. Helpless on the forest floor, his leg broken and bleeding in the jaws of the trap destined for her, he jolted suddenly from his fevered dream.

He watched her shambling slowly towards him, her head swinging. Their eyes remained locked. A foot away from him, she paused, extended her neck and cautiously sniffed his cheek. Stepping back, and rising on her back legs, she roared, a crescendo of sound ending in a snarl.

Alerted, the hunters approached, shouting excitedly, anticipating a kill. The sweet prospect of discovery and survival flickered.

She trundled away through the forest to safety, looking back only once.