Predator Island

by Douglas Cameron

  “Penguins,” Monica said.

  “No, Ms. Whitmore, not penguins. Remember that penguins exist in places beside the Antarctic – Australia and South Africa, for example.”

  “But there’s no snow or ice in those places. Is there?”

  “Penguins don’t always live in places with snow and ice. Believe me –we can talk about this at a later time – but penguins are not under consideration here.”

  “Then it must be …” Harvey Gladstone began.

  “Please, Mr. Gladstone. Let me present the case and we can discuss it at that time.”

  Gladstone sighed. “Very well.”

  “With these zones, it is ideal for our proposed project. Remember I said that there were horses and cattle on the island. They have no natural predators here. The largest predatory animal is the prehensile-tailed hutia, which resembles a coypu or nutria. That said, they are basically rodents – rats, if you will. They are mostly herbivorous but do eat small animals. They nest in trees or rock crevices and that explains why they survived the hurricane’s waters.

  “What we – I, if you wish – would like to do is to stock the island with fourteen of the world’s most dangerous predators and see which one or ones survive.”

  “Lions, and tigers and bears,” came out of the mouths of Gloria and Monica almost simultaneously and a chorus of “Oh my” came from everyone except Ramiro. This was followed by giggles and chuckles.

  “What’z ziz?” Ramiro said. “Another Broadyway joke?”

  “What’s the joke?” Horus said. “Have I missed some… oh, I see. The Wizard of Oz.”

  “The Wizard of Ooze!” said Ramiro. “I doon underztandz.”

  “It’s not a short story,” Waldo said. “I’ll explain at the next break.”

  “Está bem (Okay),” Ramiro said.

  “If you’re ready to continue,” Horus said, not sounding the least bit perturbed.

  “Where are you going to get these animals?” Phil asked. “I think I can name a lot of them, but it won’t be easy.”

  “How do you get them to the island?” Issaack asked.

  “I meant it won’t be easy acquiring them,” Phil said. “It is easy to name a bunch.”

  “We will get to all that,” Horus said. “Just let me continue.”

  After murmured assent from those with questions, Horus continued.

  “First, let us talk about apex predators. These are predators at the top of their food chain upon which no other predators prey. They are also called alpha or apical predators.”

  “One would be the lion,” Phil said. “Nobody messes with the King of Beasts.”

  “The Polar bear has to be another,” Harvey Gladstone said.

  “That is most likely true, Mr. Gladstone,” Horus said. “But on the island in consideration, there is not a suitable habitat for the polar bear because it spends most of its life on snow and ice and its main prey is seals. Also because of climate change or global warming or whatever you want to call it, the polar bear is losing its habitat and is considered a vulnerable species. I have chosen to avoid any species that is in anyway endangered. Beside it would be difficult to legally obtain such creatures.”

  “Who said anything about legally?” Phil said. “You need ‘em, you get ‘em.”

  “That would draw attention to us. In addition, there is a good chance that we can make a televised series out of …”

  “Predator Survivor,” Gladstone pipped up.

  “Perhaps,” Horus said. “But back to apex predators. The lion is an apex predator and resides in central, southern and eastern Africa and the Gir Forest in India.”

  “I’ve never heard of a lion in India,” Waldo said. “Tigers are in India. Say, that’s another apex predator, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, it is,” Horus said. “And lions are in that one place in India and are referred to as Asiatic lions. And before anyone asks, the Gir Forest is a national park and wildlife refuge in the northwest part of India bordering on Pakistan and the Arabian Sea.”

  “I don’t recall any big predators from Australia,” Issaack said.

  “Well, there is one,” Horus explained. “It is the only surviving carnivorous marsupial and is both a scavenger and predator. Anyone know?”

  “This is getting to be like a classroom,” Waldo said. “But the answer is the Tasmanian devil, which is not on the Australian continent proper but only found on the island state of Tasmania.”

  “I’ve seen those,” Harvey Gladstone said. “They have a ferocious bite but wouldn’t survive with either a lion or a tiger.”

  “Unless they could get at a spot the lion can’t reach. When they bite, they can really hang on.”

  “Well, we are not including the Tasmanian devil for that very reason,” Horus injected. “It would not survive the competition for very long.”

  “I’ll take a grizzly for my predator,” Phil said. “Those beasts have nasty claws and teeth and great protection in that fur coat.”

  “Correct,” said Horus. “They are brown bears and would naturally be one of the animals we would choose. Also, black bears need to be considered because they are omnivores. They are smaller than the brown bear but certainly deserve a shot at the title.”

  “They aren’t apex, are they?” Gloria asked.

  “No, but many of the animals we would include in this competition are not apex either,” Horus said.

  “This whole thing sounds like a dog fight,” Issaack said. “They’re outlawed in the States.”

  “Cock fights are too,” Phil said, “But they’re big in Puerto Rico.”

  “Gentlemen,” interrupted Horus. “While you are both correct, let me remind you that São Rochelle is not in the United States. It is a sovereign island under the protection of Brazil. There are no restrictions to what we are going to do.” There followed a brief pause that many would term “pregnant.” “That is if we do it.”

  “I’m game,” said Phil. “Sounds like an interesting experiment. Those animals having never encountered the other. Say, are there tigers living where those Asiatic lions live?”

  “No. That region of Indian is not suitable for tigers because it is too dry, just like where the lions live in Africa.

  “Now if we may move on to some other animals.”

  “Not juzt yet,” Ramiro said. “I like diz idea. We got the bull fightz and I likez them but ziz iz a bit more natural and iz – howz you zay – only the bezt zurvive.”

  “Survival of the fittest,” Issaack answered. “But that’s not really what this is.” He paused. “No, I guess that is what it is. That would be a good name for the series, unless it has already been used.”

  “Not that I could find,” Horus said. “Now can we…”

  “Not yetz,” Ramiro said. “I have not queztioned yet. Before we decide what animalz we will uze, how do we get them there? They needz beeg cagez and lots of menz or a cranez to lift them off boatz. No airplane can land, could be helicopter but be beeg helicopter.”

  “I agree with ‘You can call me Juan,’” said Harvey Gladstone smiling at Ramiro, who scowled in return. Obviously, he did not like to be the brunt of a joke. “How do we build the pier? How do we move the animals around? There is a lot of infrastructure needed. How’s that going to happen.”

  “I suspected that someone might have that question,” Horus said. “First though, is everyone in on the idea of the project. See who the best of the best predators is?”

  “I’m in,” Gloria said. “I need a little excitement in my life. I judge that we’ll be able to watch it.”

  “Not in person, but over television.”

  “That’s better than nothing,” Gloria said. “One vote for.”

  “Make that two,” injected Harvey Gladstone. “Provided the rest of the project is satisfactory.”

  “Three,” Waldo said. “There’s no gas on the island, at least I didn’t see a BP station. There’s going to be a need for transportation, and I guess that’s where I come in. We c
an charge batteries solarly. That island has to get a lot of sun.”

  “I’ll be four,” Issaack said. “Computers are my forte and there’s going to be a lot of need for that because you’re going to need to track animals.”

  “Five,” said Phil. “I’ve got money dying for a use. I’ve been playing with drones recently and I can see a use for them in this project. I’d like to be there to see it all.”

  “I don’t like the idea of killing animals,” Monica said. “But I think it's a fun experiment. Count me in.”

  “That’s six,” Gloria said, showing all the fingers of her left hand and the thumb of her right. All eyes turned to Ramiro.

  “You waiting for me?” he asked. “Az long as I doon getz killed, it zoundz like fun.”

  “We’re agreed,” Gloria said. “So tell us how to prepare the island, Horus, or whoever you are.”

  Chapter 10

  “I must admit that I wasn’t totally prepared for this at this time,” Horus said. “I thought it would come after lunch. So we’ll take a break, it’s almost time anyway. I’ll alert Declercq and Carmen. See you at noon.”

  Monica was moving her chair back, when something made her look at Gloria, who was giving a one-sided nod at her. Monica realized what she wanted and headed for the ladies’ room.

  “You think its bugged in here?” Gloria asked.

  “It better not be,” Monica said, “Remember when I had to take my knickers off and wash them out.” Monica had hung them off the end of a sink and now she looked at the sink and saw the knickers lying folded on the sink’s ledge. She walked over and picked them up. “Oh, my goodness. They’re dry,” she said. “Give me a minute and she entered a stall, closing and locking the door. Gloria could hear her boots being removed and set on the floor, then the cherry red leather pants were hung over the door. There was a pause, the toilet flushed, the pants were removed and shortly, the stall door opened, and Monica walked out.

  “Feels much better,” Monica said. Then stopped. Gloria was indicating not to say anything and had her invitation card held out to Monica. The light dawned quickly, and Monica pulled hers out of a pocket in her jacket and they exchanged cards. Gloria winked at Monica and they exited the ladies’ room. Waldo and Ramiro were standing about ten feet away and Ramiro was laughing and saying, “Lionz and tigerz and bearz! Oh my!”

  Monica and Gloria went back to the seats just before the break ended and sat down. At precisely noon, Horus’s face appeared in front of Gloria and said, “Monica, you’re back in your seat.”

  Gloria smiled and said, “No, she’s not.”

  Horus’s face vanished and reappeared in front of Monica. “Enough games, young lady. You go back to your original seat and give Gloria her card and get yours.”

  Horus appeared in front of Gloria and said, “You get your card from Monica and go back to your seat. Enough games.”

  The two did as bidden, with the other five watching curiously.

  “Okay, you two,” Waldo said. “What’s behind the games?”

  “I just wanted to learn if Horus could see and how he knew who was where.”

  “You could have asked,” Horus said, and then explained to everyone. “This system isn’t to the point yet where I can see you and, as you might suspect from the shenanigans that have been going on, I rely on your cards to know where you are. Those cards are your identification and keys while you are here, so if you want to maintain your privacy and security, please keep them with you and don’t give them to anyone.

  “Now, are we ready for the infrastructure lecture?”

  Everyone said they were. The screen showed a graphic representation of the island as seen from above and as they watched it zoomed in on the area on the other side of the pool at the bottom of Boulder Hill.

  “This is the area that the population cleared over the years to grow wheat and other staples needed in their lives. It wasn’t easy as some of the stones were large, but these were cut and used as tile in the houses and as a foundation for the walls. The first houses were much cruder and as things progressed they were replaced. What is important here is that the field is clear. It won’t permit a plane to land, a large helicopter could, but that won’t hold what is needed to get started: a bulldozer and not just any bulldozer but the size used in strip mining. There are two under consideration for the job: The Caterpillar D9T dozer and the John Deere 1050k Crawler. The D9T has an operating weight of 106,000 pounds and has 460 horsepower. The 1050k Crawler operating weight is 95,000 pounds and has 350 horsepower. We still have a lot of research to do before we make a decision.”

  The screen now showed a graphic of a big plane approaching the island.

  “That’s a C-130 Hercules,” Phil said, “or something like it.”

  “Again,” Horus said, “the dozer we will use and the plane have not been decided yet. This graphic was done to show you what we expect to happen. Nothing more.”

  The plane approached the island at a low altitude with its cargo doors open and they could see a bulldozer just inside the open doors.

  “We haven’t worked out all the details yet because the dozers aren’t very fast. We may have a catapult propel the dozer out but hopefully this is what will happen.”

  The video showed the dozer exiting the cargo hatch and several parachutes opening and the dozer floating down to the ground and making a landing on the farm land. There was applause just as though it had really happened.

  “We might get two or three down depending on how well they work on the island. The first step will be to make a road to the dock site. Then to make a road like a figure eight with the cross piece running through the arable land and the outside being on the edge of the island except at the volcano end where it would be along the base.”

  The video showed the little bulldozer plowing to the dock site and then the road around the island as described by Horus.

  “Once the dock is built, we will be able to land more equipment using something like an LST. It would be built while the initial construction was under way and would make the run from Belém, but of course the weather would have to be good.”

  The video showed the LST coming to the dock and offloading some other equipment.

  “What’s that equipment needed for?” Waldo asked.

  “Our headquarters.”

  “Where’s that going to be?”

  “In the volcano,” Horus said.

  Chapter 11

  They watched as the new pieces of equipment followed the bulldozer counterclockwise on the road from the dock toward the volcano and then up the slope. The bulldozer made a road going back and forth making switchbacks until it was nearly at the top of the volcano. Then, as if by magic, a tunnel opening appeared, and the dozer went through followed by the equipment. When they disappeared into the tunnel the view moved upward until they were looking down into the volcano where there was a building.

  “That is the proposed headquarters. We don’t have it completely laid out yet, but it will have work areas as well as living quarters for twenty to thirty people. Once the animals are released, all of us will be sequestered in the headquarters until the winner has been decided.”

  “How will you know when that is?” Monica asked.

  “Every animal will have a chip inserted that will not only transmit its GPS location but monitor the animal’s health. We will know when and where it dies. Or doesn’t, depending. We will have antennas all over the island able to relay the data, plus we will have video cameras and, as Mr. Parmelee said, we will be flying drones.”

  “What’s to keep the animals out of the volcano?” Gloria asked

  “There will be a gate at the tunnel’s entrance they will not be able to get through.”

  “But what if they come over the rim?”

  “There is no reason for them to and if one does reach the top and can make it down the slope to the crater floor, we will have weapons to kill it if it cannot be chased off.”

  “What happenz to ze wi
nner?” Ramiro asked. “How do you zay, to the winner goez ze prizez?”

  “It’s ‘To the victor go the spoils’,” Horus said. “I don’t expect that the island’s entire wildlife will be depleted but …. I believe the saying is ‘We will cross that bridge when we come to it.’”

  Monica sat up straight and said, “Well, I for one, not being totally comfortable with this whole killing thing – although I am willing to go along with it– would like to see that the survivor or survivors are properly cared for medically and nutritionally.”

  “I agree with Monica,” Gloria said. “It is the only humane thing to do. Getting to that point won’t be very humane, I agree, but once…,” She glared at Horus even though she knew he couldn’t see her, “…that bridge has been crossed, kindness needs to be applied. I want your building to have a large animal veterinarian and proper facilities. I am certain that you plan on having doctors and facilities available for your people, don’t you?”

  “In Belém, the closest city in Brazil, yes. We will have a helicopter landing pad within the volcano and will be able to fly anyone who needs assistance to Belém.”

  “Even so, you minimally need EMTs on staff.”

  “I have noted your point and it will be considered.”

  “Considered?” Gloria was irate. “It needs to be implemented, not considered.”

  “So noted. Any other questions about the proposed infrastructure?”

  “What about food, water, electricity?”

  “Good question, Mr. Kinkaid,” responded Horus. “We will have stocked water and food prior to the sequestering. We feel that the process should take a month, no longer, but we will have supplies for three months. Electricity will be done by solar panels on the south side of the volcano.

  “Other questions?”

  “How long will this infrastructure construction take?” Waldo asked.

  “We anticipate five years. The first part will be slow because of the rocky condition of the island. The rocks will be picked up and used to build the dock. We didn’t say but in addition to the bulldozers there would be trucks and workers. We will have to build quarters for the workers which will be done in the area of the original village so that we don’t disturb the environment any more than needed. Supplies will be airlifted either by helicopter or dropped by plane. Gasoline will be a priority for the equipment unless there are electrical dozers and trucks by the time they are needed.”