by J. Burchett
CLANG! The trap slammed shut over his head.
At the harsh metallic sound, Tora reared up with a frightened snarl and the cubs leapt in terror. In an instant they’d disappeared into the shadows.
“It worked!” cried Zoe in relief. “Well done, Ben.”
“Now get me out,” called Ben as the goat nuzzled his ear. “The poachers will be here any minute.”
Zoe pulled at the trapdoor. “I can’t open it!” she said in alarm. “Try from the inside.” Ben pushed upwards. Nothing happened. Zoe picked up a fallen branch and tried to lever the door open, but the branch snapped. She ran round the edge of the waterhole and found a sharp rock.
“Cover your face,” she cried. “I’m going to smash the mechanism on top here.”
She brought the rock down with all her strength. It shattered into fragments, leaving the locking mechanism barely scratched.
“I can’t shift it,” said Zoe in despair. “There must be something else I can do.”
But it was too late. From the trees came the sound of raised voices. The poachers were on their way.
“Run, Zoe!” yelled Ben.
“I’m not leaving you!” declared his sister in horror.
“But you’ll be caught too!”
“Shut up a minute,” Zoe hissed. “I’m thinking what to do.”
“No time!” Ben sounded frantic.
“Got it!” muttered Zoe. “This had better work.”
She could see the torchlight flashing round the trees. Just as the poachers reached the clearing she slipped out of sight.
“Check the area,” ordered Catur. “They might not all be in the trap.”
“It’s clear,” came another voice. It was Big Nose. “We’ve got the little beauties.” There was the click of a gun being cocked. “Time to get rid of them.”
“Good job they’re quiet,” commented Shorty nastily. “Easier to kill.”
Zoe pressed a button on her BUG. An unearthly wailing sounded round the clearing. Through a tiny gap in the creepers she could see the men stop at the sound. The barrel of a rifle was aimed straight at her hiding place.
“What’s that?” quavered Big Nose. He looked frightened.
Beside him Shorty’s gun was shaking as he tried to keep it steady.
“Get on with it,” snapped Catur. “That’s just some harmless animal. Don’t waste time.”
The men approached the trap with nervous steps. Desperate now, Zoe set the BUG wailing even louder. But it was no use. Big Nose was crouching down, his gun at his shoulder. Zoe knew that any minute he would see Ben.
Suddenly a deep rhythmic knocking sound came from the trap. Big Nose stumbled back, dropping his gun. “That’s no tiger!” he gasped. “The locals were right. This place is evil.”
“Don’t be stupid,” said Catur. “You’re just getting spooked.”
A dreadful groaning sound echoed inside the metal trap. Big Nose shone his torch down into it with a quivering hand. “Look at those huge shining eyes!” he gibbered. Then the words orang pendek, orang pendek rose in a ghostly howl.
“I can’t stay here,” yelled Shorty. “I’m off.”
“Me too,” wailed Big Nose.
Soon Catur was alone.
“Is this some kind of trick?” he muttered through gritted teeth, stalking towards the cage. “There’s no such thing as an orang pendek.” Zoe held her breath as he shone his torch through the grille. “What the—?” Catur sprang back in surprise. Then he laughed grimly. “Huge shining eyes?” he scoffed. “It’s just a kid in goggles! Wait a minute. I know you!” He spoke in English now, and his voice had a murderous edge. “You’re in big trouble, boy.” He released the trap mechanism and the door sprang open.
Zoe felt around until her hands closed on a heavy stick. Catur was not going to harm her brother – not if she could help it.
But a loud roar froze her to the spot. She saw Catur swing round to confront –Tora! The tiger was back. She stood on the bank, her hackles raised and her teeth bared. Catur gave a whimper. Tora crouched ready to spring as he aimed his gun.
“NO!” shrieked Zoe.
The sound of a bullet ripped through the air. Tora slumped to the ground, tried to raise herself up and fell heavily on to her side. Her tail swished weakly, her head sank slowly on to the muddy ground and she was still.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
The clearing was suddenly full of shouts and circling lights. The next moment Catur had vanished into the forest.
Zoe reached a hand out to Ben, tears streaming down her face.
“What’s going on?” he gasped, as he clambered out of the trap, blinded by the strong flashlights. He tore off his goggles.
Zoe flung her arms round him.“I’m so glad you’re OK!” she sobbed. Then she dropped to her knees and stroked Tora’s lifeless body. “But we couldn’t save this beautiful creature.”
A woman ran up to them. She had an Australian accent and wore a green uniform with an elephant logo. “Whatever are you kids doing here?”
Zoe looked at the woman, speechless. Ben squeezed his sister’s hand.
“We met a shopkeeper in Aman Tempat who had some illegally poached stuff,” he explained. “He said his name was Catur. We overheard him talking about killing a tiger, so we followed him. We would’ve told our aunt who’s staying with us, but there was no time and we didn’t know who else to trust. We managed to keep the tiger away from his trap…”
“…but we were too late to save her,” Zoe sniffed.
“Too late?” said the woman. “What are you talking about? You can give yourselves a pat on the back. It wasn’t too smart putting yourselves in danger, but it looks like you’ve saved this tiger’s life.”
Zoe gawped at her. “But the man shot her. She’s dead.”
“She’s not dead!” The woman smiled. “That fool of a poacher never even fired his gun. Feel her chest. She’s breathing.”
“How come?” Ben was stupefied. “We heard a gun and she fell to the ground.”
“That was me,” said the woman. “I fired a tranquillising dart at her.” She held out a hand. “My name’s Barbara. I’m with the Kinaree Sanctuary. We got an anonymous message saying there was a mother tiger and cubs in danger. And they weren’t the only ones. I didn’t expect to find a couple of kids under fire as well!”
Zoe and Ben stroked Tora’s magnificent fur. Now they were calmer they could feel her shallow breathing.
“Look at her noble face,” said Zoe. “Her markings are so beautiful, the white around her muzzle and over her eyes.”
“I don’t get it,” said Barbara, shaking her head. “We had no idea about this tiger and her cubs until we got the phone call. She must have kept herself well hidden.”
“Where are the cubs?” said Ben suddenly.
“Barbara!” Someone called to the Australian. Ben and Zoe were astonished to see Wicaksono, the gambler from the village, carrying one of the cubs. Another man came behind with the second and a third led the goat along on a length of rope.
“We’re lucky to have Wicaksono here,” Barbara said. “He’s the best animal trapper I know.”
Ben and Zoe looked at each other guiltily.
“You come see,” Wicaksono said in broken English, beckoning to them.
Zoe and Ben didn’t need to be told twice. The cubs mewed and licked their hands as they stroked their beautiful white bellies. Wicaksono handed one of them to Zoe.
“You hold,” he said.
Zoe wiped her eyes on her sleeves and took the tiger cub like a baby in her arms. It was surprisingly heavy. “You’re going to be all right,” she whispered as its big round eyes gazed solemnly at her.
Four men came forward with a wooden cage pulled on a cart. The sleeping Tora was lifted very carefully and placed inside.
“Back to the village,” said Barbara.
“We’ll come back for that horrible metal contraption later.”
“What about this?” called a man, holding up the tige
r skin in disgust.
“Bring that. We’ll need it for evidence.”
They all followed the cart. Wicaksono walked with Barbara, and they heard him asking questions about Tora’s health. The first morning light was beginning to trickle through the trees.
“How could we have thought he was a poacher?” Zoe whispered to Ben as the little cub nuzzled her chin. “He loves animals.”
“We shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions so quickly,” Ben agreed. “People aren’t always how they seem. Catur seemed so nice when we first met him.”
“Should we let Wicaksono know that we tagged him?” said Zoe.
“We can’t,” said Ben. “Then we’d have to tell him all about Wild. They seem to believe we’re just tourists who stumbled across this horrible plot. It shouldn’t do him any harm.”
Back at the village, the wooden cage was winched on to the back of the sanctuary’s truck. The cubs were put into a smaller box. Zoe and Ben stroked Tora’s magnificent fur through the bars as she slept.
“Goodbye,” said Zoe. “You’re going to a lovely new home where you and your children can be safe.”
Barbara came over to join them. “She’ll need a name. Any ideas?”
They pretended to think. “How about Tora?” suggested Ben.
“Tora it is. And the cubs? They’re a boy and girl.”
Zoe opened her mouth.
“Don’t you dare suggest Fluffy and Wuffy!” warned Ben with a grin.
“What are your names?” asked Barbara. “We’ll name them after you.”
“Ben and Zoe,” they chorused.
“Perfect!” said Barbara.
“What happens next?” asked Ben.
“Our vet will do an examination and tag them, like you do dogs and cats,” said Barbara. “Then they’ll be set free in the reserve. Hopefully the mother will establish her territory and live a long and happy life. There’s a male there already so she may have more cubs in time. Which is what we need if we’re going to save the Sumatran tigers.”
She turned, paid the villagers and got into the cab of the truck. Then she leant out of the window, waving a notepad at Ben and Zoe.
“Stick your email address on here,” she called. “I’ll send you an update.”
“And what about the poachers?” asked Zoe as she wrote. “There was Catur and two others, and they’re still free.”
“That shop over there is where Catur’s selling animal parts,” added Ben.
Barbara smiled. “I’ll tell the police. Those villains will soon know what it’s like to be hunted!”
With a throaty roar, the truck set off. Ben and Zoe watched until it had bumped out of sight in the early morning sunshine. Tora and her cubs were on their way to a safe new home.
“I hope they don’t find our little tracking device when they examine Tora,” said Ben, as they walked slowly through the market place.
“They’ll never be able to work out where it came from.” Zoe grinned. “You know what’s really good?”
“Fish and chips,” said Ben.
“No,” said Zoe, giving him a friendly shove. “That collector will have to do without her family of stuffed tigers. I wonder if Erika’s got any info on her.”
“Hope she’s been caught,” said Ben through gritted teeth.
Zoe nodded. “That would be perfect. Course, we won’t be able to put any of this on our website.”
“It would make a great blog,” agreed Ben. “It is a pity we’ve got to keep it all secret.”
Zoe gave a huge yawn. “I need some sleep.”
“And I need food!” added Ben. “I wasn’t joking about the fish and chips.” He pulled out his BUG. “I’ve got the hang of this now. We must let Uncle Stephen know about Tora.” He pressed the hot key for Wild HQ.
“Hello, Ben.” Uncle Stephen’s voice came through loud and clear. “Is everything all right?” he asked. “Has our friend gone to her new home?”
“Yes,” answered Ben simply. He was dying to tell his godfather every detail of the adventure but knew he couldn’t risk being overheard. “Can’t talk now.”
“I understand.” They could hear the happiness in Uncle Stephen’s voice. “That’s brilliant! I knew I could count on you. And Erika’s had a successful mission, too. I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it when she picks you up tomorrow. I’ll see you back at HQ for a debrief.” The connection was cut.
“Hope Uncle Stephen will give us a new mission when we see him,” said Ben as they took the path to their hut. “Wonder what it’ll be.”
“I know one thing,” said Zoe. “It’ll be wild!”
WILD RESCUE
SUMATRAN TIGER FACTS
TIGER SURVIVAL
Ninety-five per cent of the worldwide tiger population has been lost in the last hundred years!
No. of tigers living in the wild today about 4,000
No. of tigers living in the wild 100 years ago about 80,000
No. of subspecies of tiger 100 years ago 9
No. of subspecies of tiger in the world today 6
Sumatran, Amur, Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan,
South China (there are possibly none of this subspecies left in the wild)
The Sumatran tiger is the smallest subspecies of tiger.
Length (from head to tail):
Male – 2.4m
Female – 2.2m
Weight:
Male – 120kg
Female – 90kg
STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
About 350 Sumatran tigers are thought to remain in the wild.
They mostly live in the country’s five national parks.
Some tiger parts are said to have magical properties. The right front paw bone is thought to be the strongest. It is put into a glass of warm water. After a short while the water is drunk to treat headaches.
THREATS
POACHING
Killing tigers – and selling their body parts – is banned worldwide. However, this doesn’t seem to be enough to stop tiger poaching, even though poachers know that if they’re caught they face up to five years in prison and a very heavy fine.
DEFORESTATION
Some areas of rainforest are logged illegally in order to sell the wood and land is often cleared for oil palm plantations. As its habitat disappears tigers cannot find enough prey and may stray into areas close to villages, where they risk being shot.
HUNTING
There are still people who hunt tigers for the pleasure of the kill.
It’s not all bad news!
The Sumatran Tiger Trust is fighting for the future of the Sumatran tiger. It is funded by the South Lakes Wild Animal Park in Cumbria.Their tiger preservation team captures and re-releases tigers into safer areas. They send information on the location of Sumatran tigers to the Indonesian government, so it can forbid logging in areas where tigers have been found. The trust also tries to persuade loggers to leave ‘corridors’ of trees so that the tigers can move about from one forested area to another.
