by Irina Bokova
From the time that Lautaro was tiny, he felt different from all the children he knew. His friends always said that he was odd and very special at the same time. He dreamed of being a superhero who could save the world. He just didn’t quite know how to do it!
One morning, the children were gathered in the park sharing Brazil nuts and fresh mangoes, trying to figure their friend out. His friend Paulina, who had warm brown eyes and a sharp but thoughtful voice, said, ‘We are all friends, we know he is different. Lautaro always dresses strangely. He wears green trousers, shirt, and socks, and as if that was not enough, he also wears a green cape. I’ve seen him dressed all in green ever since I’ve known him. Besides, he is always surrounded by animals who follow him everywhere!’
‘Also, his animals seem to have something in common,’ added Camila, another friend with long black hair who loved animals and was very jolly. ‘He helps and names them, and it makes them more real, somehow. His wolf dog has a green mane and a blind eye, so he gave him a patch on and named it Pirata. His jaguar with green spots is missing a part of her tail, so he’s named her Media-cola. And his capybara has a floppy ear and three green stripes, her name is Rayas-verdes…’
‘But the truth is that he is always kind and funny to all of us, and to animals. He is always ready to help anyone who needs him!’ added Juan Pedro, who had a soft voice and a big smile. ‘That is true,’ said Nicolas, who was small and friendly, with joyful eyes full of play and fun, and a deep love of art and music. ‘We should all be a little bit more like him. My Papa thinks that helping others makes him happy, and that’s a good thing!’
‘Yes, he is always very happy and funny. That is why he is our friend. We love him just the way he is,’ said Santiago, who was very sporty and fast. ‘My Papa says that Lautaro always asks him to help rescue some little penguin blown off course by a storm, or to help with the whales when they get caught in the shallows where our river meets the ocean. And when people gather in groups to clean the beach from the oil that sometimes washes up, Lautaro is always there.’
‘My Papa also says that Lautaro tries to help his parents and neighbours. I think he is very active every day, and he finds the perfect adventure in everything he does,’ replied Nicolas. The children agreed that even if Lautaro was a bit different, it was a good difference, and they were glad of it.
Chapter 2
At that very moment, Lautaro was sitting at the mouth of the river, where the fresh water flows into the sea. He was watching the waves shift the sands. Lautaro had realised that he did not want to be a superhero like the ones on television. He didn’t believe in plastic heroes. But he knew that he had something special to give the world.
As he was watching the waves and sand, a collection of tiny spiky red crabs climbed out the water and settled into the sand, making a circle, like they were up to something. It seemed odd. Crabs planning something?
Lautaro’s mother had told him that their home was part of a large and very special wetland, one of the largest crab habitats in Latin America, which was also home to many other species, such as capybaras, flamingos, white seagulls, and special newts.
She had also warned him that many of them were endangered species, likely to soon go extinct because their homes were being destroyed. She had explained that rights to a clean environment and to education about nature were rights that all children held, due to an old treaty called the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Lautaro had been fascinated to learn about these old promises. He was also very worried about this loss of biodiversity, and whenever he could, he would research more about animals and their ecosystem in the library and on the internet.
As he watched the crabs moving through the sand, and the sands moving with the waves, he suddenly said, ‘Of course that’s it! I want to be an endangered species rescuer and save all the threatened animals around the world! And I’ll start right now at home, where there is already much work to be done. I’ll be the superhero of all those species that are about to become extinct!’
He was overjoyed to have discovered his very own mission in life. But while he already had a green cape, he still needed a superhero name. After careful consideration he chose to be ‘Capitan’.
Chapter 3
Every day, Capitan went to the mouth of their river, sat and looked at the crabs, and thought about what he could do to save the crabs, seagulls, capybaras and flamingos and all the other animals that needed help. Suddenly, as he watched, he realised he could understand exactly what the crabs were saying, so quietly, he began to listen:
‘We have to find a way to conserve our species and all the others, to avoid extinction,’ said one crab. ‘Without us, the whole balance of this wetland will be lost,’ said another. ‘Yes, our whole wetland will disappear along with us. We cannot allow this to happen,’ agreed a third.
At that moment, Capitan announced, ‘I will help you! I’m an eco-superhero. My name is Capitan and my mission is to help the species that are about to disappear.’
The crabs were nervous at first. To them, humans had big feet and made lots of noise and mess. They didn’t see why a human might understand what they were saying!
‘Don’t be alarmed, I want to help you and together we can do it!’ said Capitan.
Gradually, and through daily long talks and also quiet times together building things in the sand, they became very good friends. They exchanged lots of ideas for ways to achieve their goal.
Lautaro’s wolf, jaguar, and capybara soon joined their circle, then the dragonflies and newts, then the white seagulls, penguins, flamingos and other birds. Soon, it was Capitan’s Council of All Beings.
All of the species shared their ideas. Sometimes it was a bit difficult to understand what was going on because everyone spoke at the same time, but Capitan, as the leader, organised them to listen to each other carefully and to become respectful, so that everyone learned each other’s point of view.
One day Capitan had a genius idea. Well, he thought it was a great idea. At first, when he told the crabs and his Council of All Beings, they said, ‘It is not it is going to work! How we will do it? it is impossible!’
Capitan had understood that habitats were being lost for so many reasons that it would be impossible and far too costly to restore them all. But without rebuilding and restoring all the plants, clean water, soil and reeds, they could not give all the species back their homes. What they needed, he said, was a time machine. That way, they could travel back in time, and prevent everyone from hurting nature in the first place, he explained. It would be far simpler than clearing up all the damage after it was done.
The circle of crabs and the Council of All Beings were convinced. But a very young red crab piped up with the next question. ‘How exactly can a circle of animals build a time machine?’ Everyone looked at each other, wondering…
‘It won’t be difficult,’ Capitan said, like a proper species-saving superhero. ‘I have several ideas. You just need to trust me and to help me build it!’
‘I’ll recruit my friends,’ he added. ‘I will tell them all about the problems, and surely we will have their help too!’
Chapter 4
The next day the children had arranged to meet in the same place. The first to arrive were Santiago, Camila and Nicolas, and then everybody else arrived. Once everyone was there, Capitan told them all that had happened with crabs, and his Council of All Beings. He also told them about his idea.
Everyone looked was amazed, and struggled a bit to believe it, at first.
‘A time machine?’ Paulina asked. ‘To return to the past and do what?’
‘My Papa is certainly not going to let me join you in this idea...’ replied Camila, letting herself fall onto the sand with a sad face.
‘But we are all living in our own story. Parents don’t get a say. We can do everything we want, as long as it is to help all the other beings,’ replied Capitan.
‘It’s a super idea! It will be so much fun!�
�� said Nicolas.
‘We’ll get things that we can recycle from our homes. We all must have something that we can use,’ added Paulina.
‘Well, in that case,’ agreed Nicolas briskly, ‘we must all meet tomorrow at the forest clearing, where we used to meet to play hide and seek.’
‘And don’t forget to bring recycling materials from your homes!’ added Juan Pedro.
After that, Capitan went to talk to the crabs and the other beings. They had to come up with a plan so that once the time machine was ready, they could make the journey right away, and save all the species!
The next day, everyone was excited about the new project. After sunset, all the friends, children and animals, met secretly in the forest. Each brought recyclable materials to build the time machine.
The animals even had magical clocks, time-changing stones and other special treasures that they had hidden and protected for many years. Ideas flew among them happily, and they laughed as they matched their creation to Capitan’s vision.
After many hours and much work a new moon rose and they lay exhausted in the meadow to watch the wonder they just created together.
‘Incredible!’ they shouted at once.
‘There is only a small detail,’ said Paulina.
‘What is it?’ the rest wondered.
‘I hope it works…’
Hmmm, yes, that was a tiny, little detail!
A green globe hovered above the friends, with an oval-shaped door through which they could see four soft and cosy chairs with seatbelts. The machine had a cheerful talking computer, which they called Issa. It controlled the ship along with the pilot. Their time machine was perfect and… it worked! The friends slipped away to rest, but Capitan stayed behind, still thinking about the next step.
All met again soon. This time all of Capitan’s friendly beings were there, including the crabs, the flamingos, the capybaras, and many others.
‘The first thing that we need to know is what has caused the extinction of many species and why so many others are dying out,’ said Capitan.
A very intellectual crab knew the answer to that. ‘From what I’ve read, the animals are endangered because when humans built cities and started using all the earth’s resources, we lost many of our most important habitats.
‘Endangered animals are in trouble because humankind continues to destroy the plants and to damage ecosystems and even the air and climate that the animals need to live. Humans also collect and sell exotic animals, and practise something they call sport hunting.’
‘Did you know that there are over 16,000 endangered species in the world?’ added a flamingo sitting next to Nicolas.
‘That many? I never realised it was so bad…’ said Pirata the maned wolf, blinking his good eye in surprise.
‘Knowing that, we should go back to the year 1500, after the discovery of the Americas, and begin our mission there. The best thing we could do would be to help people to become aware of what will happen in the future if we don’t protect animals, nature and the environment. We also have to convince all decision-makers to help us. We have to make them understand how important it is,’ said Nicolas.
‘After that, we will continue our trip and to land in the year 1600, then find important moments in the 1800s and 1900s. Then we can come back to home and see if our mission has been successful. Well… who will go with me?’ said Capitan.
‘Me!’ said Nicolas.
‘And me!’ said Paulina, raising her hand.
‘Although I’m a bit scared, I will go!’ said Juan Pedro.
‘I want to go too…’ said Camila.
‘And don’t forget about us…’ shouted the animals.
Unfortunately, they could not all fit inside the time machine. They had to decide who could go. ‘We will decide the only possible way… talking, listening and understanding each other, like a team,’ said Nicolas.
‘We understand that not all of us will fit this time, but I have an idea. If our mission is successful, we could do other trips and keep on helping our planet in many ways,’ Capitan added. ‘We will be a Species-Saving Time Team!’
Everyone liked this idea and agreed.
Capitan, Camila, Paulina and Nicolas climbed inside the time machine. They were joined by four of their animal friends – the maned wolf Pirata, the jaguar Media-cola, the capybara Rayas-verdes and the intellectual crab. Together, they would be the first Time Team. They waved to all their friends. ‘Let the journey begin!’ announced Issa, their time machine.
Chapter 5
As the years sped backwards, the children watched with fascination. It was amazing. They had never imagined that travelling in time could be so exciting. It was a beautiful journey through the space-time continuum, peppered with super-bright stars and possibilities of all colours. Issa, as their guide, while they were still amazed, tried to explain everything, so they could report back to their friends who had to stay behind.
Suddenly, the machine landed near to a river. The place was inhospitable; it looked like no one lived there. Issa said, ‘Information processing... Location: Amazonian region, Ecuador… year: 1562.’
They climbed out into a rainforest and encountered a Huaorani tribe. They were greeted with caution at first, but with Issa’s help, they figured out how to communicate with the tribe in their language. The Huaorani people lived from the hunt and the harvest, and understood the importance of the natural world.
They had fun together, making friends and sharing their interests, beliefs, and traditions. Soon, they were able to understand each other very well. They left with joy after the chief assured them he and his people would continue to help to preserve and care for the animals, and would defend all nature with honour and respect.
The Time Team returned to the time machine and travelled to 1690. They stopped at a place called Santiago, in Chile, where they saw very strange and different people. They wore curious clothes and used carriages with horses to travel about. They had thick heavy clothing and tall hats. There were some very rich people, but many poor as well.
‘I can’t believe that they don’t have computers, phones or cars,’ said Camila.
‘… and very few know how to read and write,’ added Paulina.
As before, Issa helped them learn the way people spoke, and the children started discussing the future. They learned about the way the people lived. They also explained to them that many animal species would disappear if the people didn’t care for them and understand that nature is amazing.
At first, the long-ago Chileans were very surprised, but they ended up trusting the earnest, joyful children, and promised that they would try to to protect the animals and the environment.
After a lovely feast with their new friends, the children leaped into their time machine. Feeling more relaxed, they continued their journey and stopped in 1868, in a small village called San Pablo, Guelatao, in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains. While they were walking through the forest, they could not believe their eyes… many trees around the forests had been cut down and very few animals had survived. They made friends with an indigenous boy, who introduced himself as Benito.
‘What is happening here? Where are all the animals?’ asked Nicolas.
‘People have been cutting down trees a lot lately. They have used up the soil far, far too much…’ Benito answered sadly.
A big curious crowd of the Zapotec people came closer to meet Capitan, Camila, Paulina and Nicolas. They had heard that the children had something very important to share, and they wanted to meet talking animals from the future.
The children began to explain the importance of protecting animals and their habitats, including trees and the rest of the ecosystem.
‘These are resources that provide for us all,’ added Paulina.
‘What you have said makes a lot of sense and fits our beliefs. We will do our part as well!’ said Benito, excited.
The crowd looked at each other, wondering. They agreed to help, and to pas
s on the message to other people of the region.
As the team said farewell to the kind Zapotec people and got back to the machine, Capitan wondered if the boy was Benito Juarez, the one who made history in Mexico.
Chapter 6
It was almost time to return home, so they decided to visit 2012. Capitan believed that there was a lot of work to do there. They reached their destination at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There was a gathering of thousands of prime ministers and presidents from many countries. They were discussing environmental problems and the importance of protecting natural habitats for all living creatures.
The children learned that, in 1992, a first Earth Summit had been held in Rio, and all the countries had agreed a Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, with 27 principles to guide sustainable development around the world, and several international treaties.
But in 2012, there were still too many challenges, so world leaders met again, to decide on the future we want, and to agree to set Sustainable Development Goals for the world.
The children and animals were a sensation at the Rio+20 conference, and worked hard to convince all the decision-makers to make bold promises for the forests, for biodiversity, to stop climate change and to restore deserts and degraded soils.
They especially focused on changing education everywhere, so that people would respect all species. With such a dynamic Species-Saving Time Team on their side, everyone was quickly convinced, especially by the talking animals who pleaded for their survival and their habitats. Everything was agreed, and they celebrated all their achievements together.
Many people thanked them, and told them it wouldn’t have been possible without their help. It was time to return home and continue their mission of convincing all people to be good towards the environment, and that would bring them closer to living in the world they had always wanted.
As the time machine stopped, a big crowd of people and animals were waiting. As Issa announced their own time, 2032, and their faithful companions, the maned wolf, the jaguar, the crab and the capybara jumped out of the green globe, they saw thousands of crabs, flamingos, penguins and other species, that had been nearly extinct before the Time Team left, had joined their Council of All Beings. The anteaters, tapirs, sloths, howler monkeys, pumas and different species of macaw and other birds were all still in existence after all.
