"Cheetahs Never Prosper" is the thirty-fourth episode of The Wild Thornberrys's second season which was first broadcast on March 20, 2000.
Summary[]
Eliza tries to help a Cheetah cub named Tano and finds the tables turned on her when the cub finds his mother.
Synopsis[]
The Thornberrys are trailblazing the Savannah at the end East Africa's dry season. It's very hot and a drought has rendered water very scarce. The many majestic beasts of the region from the giraffes to the elephants, from the zebras to even the mighty lions are suffering. In fact, only the vultures are having a good time, given the animals that cannot make it to the next rains. Eliza observes this from the ComVee and empathizes with the natural plight of so many unique creatures.
The Thornberrys make camp near a dusty dried pond. Nigel goes over some safety standards with his daughters, as the end of the dry season makes the Savannah more dangerous than usual. He instructs them to wear hats and sunscreen, cary plenty of water, and to take care to avoid animals which are very irritable given the conditions. Debbie considers the instructions irrelevant as she will spend the trip inside the ComVee. Eliza too disregards the instructions, assuming she is well conditioned to survive in the Savannah. Debbie immidiately cranks the air conditioner, which Marianne quickly turns down, warning that too much power will overload the ComVee's auxiliary generator.
Out from camp, Eliza spots a female Cheetah and her cub Tono. Both are quite destitute, having been without food or water for some time. Eliza rushes back to camp and tries to get out the hose to provide a small water source for the Cheetahs. However, Nigel forbids her from doing so, reasoning that as naturalists, the Thornberrys must allow the Cheetahs to survive (or not) on their own. Marianne is more concerned for Eliza's safety, as the lack of food and water would likely make Cheetahs very aggressive, even towards humans.
In the ComVee, the Family is having a filling lunch of sandwiches. Donnie sweetly offers Eliza to come eat with them, but she reneges, unable to stop observing the suffering animals outside. She angrily protests to her family that it's hypocritical of them as naturalists to enjoy the comforts of air conditioning, sandwiches and cold soda while the animals they care about are dying. She attests she will fast until the rains come, which none of the other Thornberrys care to do.
Outside, Eliza sees little Tono alone. He has been separated from his Mother and is crying out in fear and misery. Eliza tells her parents about lonely Tono. Nigel states that he hopes for the defenseless cub's Mother to return, lest the desperate Hyenas and Jackals attack him. Again, Nigel and Marianne decline Eliza's protests to bring Tono into camp, even with the Cheetah's overall population at risk. They take a firm stance, with Marianne stating she will terminate Eliza's privilege of traveling the world with the Family, and that she will be sent home to the US. Eliza takes this threat of punishment more seriously, but as Nigel and Marianne depart for a filming session, Eliza again hears Tono's cries. This is too much for her, and she decides to head out with Darwin and take action. Debbie, seeing she has the ComVee to herself, sets the AC up to full and sits back for a nap.
Eliza and Darwin approach Tono, Darwin insisting this is a bad idea. As if to prove his point, in the distance a small clan of hyenas chase and kill some gazelle. But Eliza is undeterred. She approaches Tono and tries to comfort him, saying they'll find his Mother. Tono is very dehydrated, so Eliza instructs Darwin to cup his hands, and she pours some water into them. The little cheetah cub quickly laps up the precious water, and his hunger and instinct compel him to nip Darwin's fingers. Darwin is quite cross at this minor injury and is further convinced that cheetahs will only see him and Eliza as potential calories. Tono begs for more water, but Eliza reasons they must conserve. The trio head out to find Tono's Mother.
Meanwhile at the ComVee, Debbie is sleeping as the generator gives out. Out on the Savannah, the heat is starting to bear down on Eliza and Darwin. Eliza realizes she forgot her hat, and Darwin insists they return to the ComVee and not go out again. Just then a rustling in the local brush puts them on guard, and Eliza instructs her two companions to run in different directions. Fortunately it's not a hungry lion, but Donnie. Darwin demands they have some water. Eliza relents, but Darwin greedily drinks more than a sustainable portion. Tono desperately jumps at the bottle, spilling it. Donnie doesn't help the situation by lapping some water up himself. By the time Eliza's secured the bottle again, Tono has bitten it and the meager remaining water is draining out.
Meanwhile Nigel and Marianne are filming some zebras desperately searching for water in a dry pond. The two are sympathetic to Eliza's concerns, wishing they could in fact help the animals. They decide to head back to camp. Some distance away, the heat and lack of water is wearing Eliza, Darwin, Donnie and Tono down. Eliza insists on keeping her promise to help Tono, but Darwin states she should have kept her promise to her parents. He asks where camp is, and Eliza realizes she's lost her reference to camp. She instructs Tono to keep calling out for his Mother, reasoning she knows the Savannah well and can lead them back.
By now Debbie has woken up as the temperature in the ComVee is getting dangerously high. She realizes both the AC and refrigerator are out of action. Nigel and Marianne return home, and quickly become annoyed that the generator has shorted out, despite Debbie's attempts to cover up her responsibility. Nigel then realizes Eliza is missing. The Family quickly deduces that Eliza must have gone out to find the Cheetahs. They quickly power up the ComVee's engine and go searching for her.
Out on the Savannah the quartet is feeling the pressure of the late day. The sky is growing dark with clouds, but the oppressive heat still hasn't broken. Darwin realizes that Donnie is missing, prompting both him and Tono to despair. Eliza tries to calm them down, hoping their lack of caution won't draw in hungry lions. Another bad situation arrises, a pack of jackals is closing in. The three scurry up a tree, finding Donnie who helps them get to safety, though the Jackals now have them fixed in place.
Meanwhile the ComVee is searching thoroughly for Eliza. Nigel notices a lioness stalking something and directs Marianne to follow her and ward her off in case it's Eliza. However, Eliza is a distance away. She, Darwin and Donnie try to signal the ComVee, but it is heading in the wrong direction. The Jackals cruelly taunt Eliza to give up Tono for them to eat. At that moment, Tono's Mother arrives and tells the Jackals to get away. The Jackals try to intimidate her with their numbers, but she is more fierce. The Jackals flee and Tono reunites with his Mother. Eliza assumes the endeavor having been worthwhile, and that Tono's Mother will thank her. She jumps down from the tree at Darwin's frantic protest to introduce herself. But Tono's Mother is NOT thankful, and immidiately sees Eliza as prey, pinning her to the tree. Eliza points out she rescued Tono, but that falls on deaf ears. Tono's Mother instructs him to attack Eliza, which he does out of shear hunger. Eliza is able to scurry back up the tree as Tono is too small and weak to attack. Tono's Mother takes the lead, cornering our heroes on a branch.
Just then, the sky opens up in a massive thunderstorm. The effect sends the nearby animals into a frenzied stampede which knocks Tono's Mother out of the tree and into their path. Now safer, Eliza, Darwin and Donnie climb down from the tree. Among the chaos of the storm, Marianne spots the trio and the ComVee speeds towards them. The stampede is not abating, and a flash flood is beginning to form. The ComVee pulls up near the trio who rush to it. Nigel helps Darwin aboard, but Eliza stops to find Donnie who is quickly floating down the now rushing river. The ComVee loses traction in the water, so Marianne deploys the pontoons. Eliza is swept downstream too and quickly catches up to Donnie (who is naturally enjoying the danger). They fall down a small rapid with the ComVee makeshift boat tumbling in pursuit. Nigel and Debbie reach out to grab Donnie as Marianne fights for control in the rapids. Eliza goes under, but with great effort, she manages to grab Nigel's hand and is pulled aboard just as the ComVee begins to spin out in the river. For a few tense moments the ComVee is out of control, until Nigel manages to help Marianne right the wheel and returns to stable sail in the settling current.
Fortunately no one is hurt from the ordeal, but Marianne is CROSS. She admonishes Eliza for breaking her promise and putting herself and the Family in danger. Marianne breaks down at how close Eliza came to perishing, and Eliza genuinely apologizes and accepts responsibility for her actions. She admits that Marianne's punishment of sending her home is probably fair, and she goes solemnly to pack up. But Marianne relents, valuing the unity of the Thornberries and their shared adventures. She states Eliza doesn't need to leave, but Nigel does set a proper consequence for her actions. She will need to clean the ComVee which has become a mess from its tumble through the rapids. Debbie is about to gloat when Marianne adds Debbie will need to help, given she wrecked the generator and likely diminished the ComVee's amphibious drive mode.
It's then that the Family sees an incredible sight out the window. The ComVee has come to a stop in the middle of a large watering hole which is now surrounded by all the animals of the Savannah. Nigel and Marianne waste no time setting up the camera on the roof, with Nigel commenting on the renewal of East Africa's ecosystem with the coming of the rains. He notes the unique, uneasy truce between all of the animals, regardless of being predators or prey, to rehydrate after weeks of drought. Eliza and Darwin notice that Tono and his Mother have survived the stampede and flood and are now drinking from the watering hole.
Transcript[]
Marianne: (suspiciously) Eliza how close were you to those cheetahs?
Marianne: Didn't you hear what your father said?! Cheetahs are extremely dangerous!
Tano: Mama! Please come back! Mama!
Darwin: Eliza! Please don't do this! It's too dangerous!
Darwin: (gasps) See?! That could be us!
Eliza: Tano? Tano!
Tano: Huh? Who's calling my name?
Eliza: Me, Eliza.
Marianne: Eliza! The Cheetahs! Oh, we have to find her! Fast!
Jackal Boss:
Quotes[]
Marianne: (To Eliza) I am not going to lose my youngest daughter to a hungry Cheetah.
Nigel (To Debbie): Help me save your sister!
Trivia[]
- Nigel saves Eliza's life again.
- The Cheetah Cub and his mother are not the same ones from The Wild Thornberrys Movie.
- The episode is ranked #98 in the "Top 100 Greatest Moments In Nicktoon History".
- Cheetahs are generally docile towards humans, and there has never been a recorded fatal attack in the wild. However, wild animals are never to be underestimated, especially when hungry, thirsty, hot, irritable, tired, threatened, protecting their young, and desperate.
- When Eliza hears Tono crying out, from Nigel and Marianne's perspective, it sounds like a Cheetah meowing in distress. But to Eliza, it sounds like a desperate child calling for help.