Island Ambush

by Bindi Irwin

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Bindi Wildlife Adventures 18: Island Ambush

  ePub ISBN 9781742744551

  A Random House book

  Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd

  Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060

  www.randomhouse.com.au

  First published by Random House Australia in 2011

  Copyright © Australia Zoo 2011

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia.

  Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at www.randomhouse.com.au/offices

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry

  Author: Irwin, Bindi, 1998–

  Title: Island Ambush / Bindi Irwin, Ellie Browne

  ISBN: 978 1 86471 835 5 (pbk.)

  Series: Irwin, Bindi, 1998– Bindi wildlife adventures; 18.

  Target audience: For primary school age

  Other authors/contributors: Browne, Ellie

  Dewey number: A823.4

  Cover photograph of Bindi © Australia Zoo

  Cover photograph of shark © Getty Images

  Cover and internal design by Christabella Designs

  Typeset and eBook production by Midland Typesetters, Australia

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Imprint Page

  Dear Diary

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Animal Fact File

  Bindi Wildlife Adventures Series

  Become a Wildlife Warrior!

  Bindi looked up. Sleek and majestic, Big Mouth cruised above them, blocking out the sun.

  Bindi wanted to shout in amazement but she was 10 metres underwater. Instead, she turned to her friend Kelly and gave her the thumbs up.

  Kelly nodded and smiled, her eyes wide.

  When the great whale shark had passed over and the sun was again visible through the crystal clear water, the girls followed at a respectful distance.

  Finally, Big Mouth dived down and disappeared out of sight.

  Bindi motioned to Kelly, and they swam across to the reef overhang. Here it looked just like an octopus’s garden, a wonderland of different corals alive with myriad fish in a rainbow of colours. It was spectacular, and the perfect setting to see the world’s largest fish.

  Kelly had the idea to come to see the whale sharks here at South Ari Atoll in the Maldives, a tropical island paradise of beautiful coral reefs and atolls in the oceans south of Sri Lanka. Kelly, who lived in Oregon in the USA, was totally mad about these enormous but harmless fish, which mainly fed on plankton and fish eggs.

  The girls were helping Meena, a marine biologist who was studying the whale sharks that swam through these waters. There was much to learn. While people knew that some whale sharks travelled thousands of kilometres around the world’s oceans, no-one really knew how or where they bred.

  It was Meena who dubbed this particular fish Big Mouth, because his mouth was so wide. Now she swam across to the girls and motioned for them to follow her. Together they skirted the reef and then dived down.

  As Meena paddled on ahead, Bindi pointed out a stunning blue parrot fish to her friend. Nearby, a little clown fish was darting in and out of a colony of sea anemones. Through their diving masks the girls smiled and laughed.

  With a kick of her flippers, Bindi dived down even deeper. Below her a long ledge of pink coral jutted out from the reef side. She swam above it, admiring a pair of striped yellow butterfly fish.

  Then she spotted something lying on the coral below her. It was long and grey-brown. She swam a little closer. Bindi recognised it immediately due to the shape of the fish’s head. It was a baby hammerhead shark.

  But something was wrong. Bindi knew that sharks have to keep moving. They don’t lie down and take a nap.

  She swam even closer to examine the fish. It was still and lifeless. Dead. But worse, it was missing all its fins. Bindi could see where the fins had been cut off, with a sharp knife, by the look of it.

  Bindi looked around for Meena and Kelly. They were not far off. She swam over and led them to the baby shark.

  Meena shook her head. She pointed towards the surface. The girls nodded, and together they swam up slowly, heading back in the direction of the boat.

  ‘That shark has been finned!’ Bindi shouted angrily when they surfaced.

  Kelly tugged the air hose from her mouth. ‘Who would do that?’ she said. ‘I thought shark finning was illegal in the Maldives!’

  Meena pulled up her mask and shook the water from her face. ‘Shark finning is illegal here. But it still goes on. At least they didn’t get Big Mouth. I’d hate to see him killed off for a bowl of shark fin soup.’

  ‘So would I,’ Bindi said. ‘But hammerhead sharks are endangered. And it was just a baby! That’s so wrong!’

  ‘Come on, Bindi,’ shouted Kelly. ‘Let’s get back to the boat and see if we can catch those shark finners.’

  ‘And if we do catch them,’ Bindi called out to her friend as she swam off, ‘I’ll turn them into soup!’

  Back onboard the boat, Bindi, Kelly and Meena pulled off their diving gear and stowed it below deck.

  When the girls had raised the anchor, Meena started the motor and slowly they chugged off in the direction of Male Atoll, where they were staying for the night at Meena’s place.

  It was early afternoon, but they had a long trip ahead of them, around the atoll and across the open sea.

  Standing on the bow with Kelly, Bindi felt the sun warm on her skin. She looked down. The coral appeared as dark shapes below the aqua water. Here and there, it had grown so high it broke through the surface, little coral islands that seemed to float on the sea.

  ‘It’s so beautiful!’

  ‘Sure is,’ Kelly said. ‘But we’ve got to suss out who finned that baby hammerhead. I’m still fuming about it!’

  ‘Me too,’ Bindi replied. ‘But it could have been anyone! How do we find them?’

  Kelly tapped her head. ‘We’ll need to use our noggins.’

  Just then Bindi spotted a boat off to starboard. It was heading east, and would eventually cross their path.

  She pointed. ‘There’s our first suspect.’

  The boat
was moving quickly, and soon they could see it was a ‘dhoni’, like Meena’s boat. A dhoni was a boat with a high, curved prow and traditionally made of coconut wood. It was unique to the Maldives, and many fishermen still used them here.

  As the boat drew near, the girls heard a shout. They turned to see Meena waving madly.

  ‘Ah, they must be friends, not foe,’ Kelly said.

  Two people on the boat were waving back.

  The girls ran across to Meena, who was sitting by the motor.

  ‘Do you know them, Meena?’ Bindi asked.

  ‘Yes, they’re fellow scientists. They’re studying the coral. I see them out here all the time.’ Meena smiled. ‘Their boat’s a bit faster than mine.’

  ‘A bit?’ Kelly burst out laughing. ‘Compared to us they’re flying!’

  The boat overtook them and soon was just a dot on the sea. Kelly and Bindi returned to the bow to keep watch.

  Another boat appeared some way behind them. Whatever kind of boat this one was, it was super fast. In a matter of minutes it had caught up with them.

  The girls could see that the boat was a large modern fishing boat. It had red writing on its side.

  ‘What’s that big reel on the back?’ Bindi asked Kelly.

  ‘I think that’s a long line,’ Kelly replied. ‘That’s the new way they fish for tuna around here. Meena told me all about it.’

  The fishing boat overtook them and sped on. Now they were travelling in its frothy wake, which looked like a road cut across the surface of the water.

  ‘How does the long line work?’ Judging by the frown on Kelly’s face, Bindi almost wished she hadn’t asked.

  Kelly slumped against the side of the boat. ‘Well, they let out a long fishing line, sometimes longer than 100 kilometres, with thousands of shorter lines hanging off it, each with a hook,’ she said. ‘They pull it through the water then later reel it all in. Sure, they catch plenty of tuna. But they also catch lots of other things – sharks, turtles, even dolphins. Most of them die – they’re just called “bycatch”.’

  ‘How unfair!’

  Kelly grimaced. ‘It’s totally unfair.’

  Bindi narrowed her eyes, ‘I guess it’s also an easy way to get your hands on shark fins.’

  Kelly nodded. ‘Meena said shark fin is like rhino horn around here. It’s really valuable. That’s why that little hammerhead lost his fin. To thicken up some shark fin soup.’

  Bindi felt her anger rise like an ocean wave. She looked down into the blue waters and thought about all the wonderful creatures that lived there.

  The fishing boat’s wake was still visible on the surface. Bindi spotted something lying directly in their path. It was another lifeless shark. This one was a reef shark. But like the little hammerhead, it was finless.

  Bindi pointed it out to her friend. ‘There’s no time to waste, Kelly. We’ve got to find out who’s doing this.’

  Kelly saluted. ‘Aye aye, Cap’n.’

  It was late afternoon when Meena steered the boat to its mooring in Male Atoll harbour. Bindi and Kelly helped her cast the anchor and tie up.

  When everything had been washed down and put away, they unloaded their belongings and jumped onto the wharf.

  ‘How do we get to police headquarters, Meena?’ Bindi hadn’t been joking when she declared there was no time to waste. She wanted to report the shark finning immediately.

  ‘It’s not far,’ Meena said. ‘I’ll show you.’

  As they made their way along the wharf, they passed all kinds of vessels, from old wooden dhonis and tin runabouts to gleaming white cruisers and large mechanised fishing boats.

  Suddenly Kelly grabbed Bindi by the arm. ‘There it is!’ she hissed, giving a surreptitious nod in the direction of a boat just up ahead.

  ‘That’s it, all right,’ Bindi whispered back.

  ‘Shhhh,’ was all Meena said as they walked past.

  Bindi stole a glance at the boat. It was moored behind another fishing boat. Two men were cleaning the upper deck. Now she could read the red writing on the side. Feyrun, it said.

  Bindi pointed the name out to Meena. ‘What does it mean?’

  Meena snorted. ‘It means “weaver”, but it can also mean “pirate”.’

  They were now well past the boat and out of earshot.

  ‘Probably just the right name for it,’ Kelly said. ‘If they’re doing the shark finning, they’re nothing but pirates.’

  ‘Sea robbers,’ Bindi piped up.

  ‘Exactly,’ Kelly agreed.

  Meena looked at both girls and smiled. ‘Now, no name calling just yet,’ she said. ‘We don’t know for sure whether they’re the culprits.’

  ‘Maybe not, but all things point to it,’ Bindi said. ‘And that’s what I’ll be telling the police.’

  Kelly gave her a slap on the back. ‘You go, girl!’

  The police station was a tall, imposing building not far from the port. As they crossed the lobby their footsteps on the dark tiles echoed.

  Two policemen were sitting at the front desk. As Bindi and her friends approached, one looked up from his computer and said something in Dhivehi, the local language.

  Meena answered.

  ‘So how can I help you?’ the policeman said in English to Bindi and Kelly.

  ‘We want to report a case of shark finning,’ Bindi said, trying to sound as confident as possible.

  ‘Interesting. So you saw someone doing this to a shark, did you?’ The policeman showed no expression.

  ‘No, we didn’t see anyone do it, but we saw the sharks. Two of them. Without their fins.’

  ‘And one of them was floating not far from a big fishing boat called Feyrun that’s now sitting down there in the harbour,’ Kelly added in a loud voice.

  ‘Hmm, well, you may know that shark finning is now illegal in the Maldives,’ the policeman said, ‘but unless we can catch someone in the act, it’s very hard to prove.’ He looked hard at Bindi. ‘So you didn’t actually see anyone fin a shark?’

  ‘No-o-o,’ Bindi said, trying to buy time while she thought of something to say that would convince the policeman.

  ‘Well, in that case, I’m afraid there’s nothing the authorities can do.’ The policeman smiled at Meena and said something the girls couldn’t understand. Then he stood, collected his papers and nodded before walking across to a side door and disappearing through it.

  Bindi and Kelly looked at each other.

  ‘This is so not cool, Bindi Irwin,’ Kelly said.

  ‘So not cool,’ Bindi agreed.

  ‘Come on, girls. I better take you home.’ Meena looked tired. It had been a long day.

  Bindi and Kelly didn’t budge.

  ‘Quickly, you two. It’s getting late. Time to go.’

  Bindi noticed the other policeman sitting at the desk. For the first time he spoke.

  ‘I’m sorry we couldn’t be of more help,’ he said, ‘but we really do need proof.’

  Bindi spotted something on the policeman’s arm. It was staring at her. ‘Um, you have a gecko on your arm,’ she said, pointing to a small striped lizard that was clinging to his shirt sleeve. It had bright pale eyes and a slinky tail.

  The policeman smiled. ‘That’s Lucky. He’s my partner, as they say in the movies.’

  ‘Oh, he’s so cute!’ Kelly reached out to pat the gecko, but it scuttled up the policeman’s arm and out of sight. ‘Why’s he called Lucky?’

  ‘In my culture, geckos bring luck. So he’s Lucky.’ The policeman smiled again. ‘You can borrow him, if you like. He’s very tame and friendly. Maybe he’ll bring you luck.’

  The policeman reached around behind him. Then he held out his hand. The little gecko was sitting in his palm, staring at them and flicking out his tongue
.

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Of course.’ The policeman nodded encouragingly. ‘Here, take him.’

  Bindi reached out her hand. The policeman gently placed the gecko in her palm.

  ‘You can bring him back tomorrow. He needs a holiday from the police station!’

  Bindi and Kelly looked at each other and then at the lizard, which was nestled in Bindi’s hand, staring up at them.

  ‘What do I do with him? What does he eat?’

  ‘You can carry him in your pocket. Let him roam around at home, and he’ll catch his own dinner.’

  ‘Thanks so much!’ Bindi said. ‘We’ll bring him back tomorrow.’ She looked at Kelly and Meena, and added: ‘Along with some proof that those people on the Feyrun are finning sharks.’ There was a steely tone in her voice.

  The policeman raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, don’t do anything silly. If you need me, I’m here until late tonight, then back again tomorrow afternoon. Just ask for Ali. Dhanee. Goodbye.’

  ‘Thanks, Ali,’ Bindi said.

  She looked down at her new friend. Lucky flicked out his tongue and licked one of his eyes. Then he licked the other.

  ‘My brother, Robert, would love you!’ Bindi gave the gecko a little kiss on the head. ‘Come on, Lucky. We’ve got work to do.’

  ‘No. It could be dangerous. Your parents would never talk to me again!’ said Meena.

  They were standing on the steps of the police station. Bindi and Kelly were keen to go back to the wharf to check out the suspicious boat. Meena was not.

  ‘We’re going straight back to my place where you can have a shower and a snack and watch some TV before dinner,’ stated Meena firmly. ‘And that’s final.’

  Meena’s phone buzzed. She answered and talked to the caller in Dhivehi, sounding concerned. Finally she hung up.

  She put her hands on her hips. ‘Okay, there’s been a slight change of plan. I have to go into the office for a short meeting. You two will have to walk back to my place. I’ll see you there soon.’

  She handed Bindi her door key. ‘So you know how to get there?’