"Guys! Get over here quick!"
No sooner had Koki shouted when the rest of the Wild Kratts team flooded into the main room, gathering around the technician's database. From her place on the central platform, Amber's head shot up, now awakened from her slumber by the sudden disturbance. At four years old, the female Velociraptor was nearly fully grown. A feminine, mechanical yawn sounded from a high tech pad adorned on the crown of the raptor's head as she stretched out her claws, ridding herself of the sleepy feeling at their tips. Once fully awake, she jumped down from her perch to join her 'pack'.
"What is it, Koki?"asked Aviva.
"Incoming emergency call from the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya."the Tortuga communications expert replied. "It's Laura!"
"Laura Wilkinson? The ranger?"asked Martin, now all ears.
"Do we know another Laura?"said Chris with a slight smirk, folding his arms.
The older Kratt shrugged. "Touché."
"Who?"asked the young dinosaur, tilting her head.
Without wasting another minute, Koki answered and a young woman appeared on the main computer panel. A dark brown outdoors brim hat covered golden blonde hair that was tied in a French braid. She also wore a blue t-shirt covered by a beige vest as well as a pair of khaki shorts.
"Hi Laura!"greeted the Wild Kratts team.
"Jambo, my friends,"Laura replied with a smile. " It's good to see you all again."here her smile faded. "But I am grieved to be the bearer of bad news,"
"What is it, Laura?"asked the Kratt in blue worriedly.
"Is it poachers?"asked Chris with a scowl, remembering their last encounter years before.
"No. It's Sudan. His health has been deteriorating."
The team shared a collective gasp of horror. Except for Amber who tilted her head in confusion. "Who is this Sudan?"
"Yeah. Who's Sudan?"asked JZ, equally confused. "We're talking about a car? Right?"
"No, guys."the Kratt in green corrected. "Sudan is a Northern White rhino."
"The last male Northern rhino on earth."added Martin ominously.
"The last one?"asked the redhead in shock. "What happened to all the others?"
Koki heaved a regretful sigh. "I'm afraid it's not a story with a happy ending, Jimmy." The computer whizz pulled up several images from the computer, including a historical map of Africa. "It says here that the Northern White rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) formerly ranged over parts of northwestern Uganda, southern South Sudan, the eastern part of Central African Republic, and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their range possibly extended as far west as Lake Chad, into Chad and Cameroon.
"Poachers reduced their population from 500 to just 15 in the 1970s and 1980s. From the early 1990s through mid-2003, the population recovered to more than 32 animals. Sadly, poaching had intensified in mid-2004 and further devastated the wild population of rhinos."
"Why were so many of them killed?"asked JZ, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Rhinos had been hunted for centuries for their horns, which are used to made handles for daggers. They're also the main ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine, claiming that ground up rhino horn can cure cancer or hangovers."the Kratt in blue explained.
"But those claims are bogus."added Chris in displeasure. "Rhino horn is made of keratin, the same material your fingernails are made out of."
"So what's Sudan's story?" asked JZ, wanting to know more.
"Sudan was captured in the country of Sudan in 1975 when he was two years old. He was later shipped to the Dvůr Králové Zoo in Czech Republic where he lived until 2009, when he was relocated here to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy for a "Last Chance To Survive" breeding program, along with three other Northern White rhinos, his daughter Najin and Fatu his granddaughter ."added the blonde ranger. "We had hoped that Ol Pejeta would provide a more natural habitat for the animals to induce breeding."
"But sadly, Sudan has been technically infertile for years, meaning IVF is the Northern White rhino's final hope."said Koki.
"IVF?" The Tortuga pilot was puzzled to say the least.
"In Vitro Fertilization."the young scientist replied. "It's a process of fertilization where an egg is combined with sperm outside the body, in vitro, or in other words, 'in glass'."
JZ lit up in understanding. "Oh. So what you're saying is that this species' best chance now is to be grown in a lab? Like back in Jurassic Park?"
"That's the gist of it."said Aviva.
"Sudan is gravely ill."said Laura sadly. "I fear that he won't last the night."
"You mean if they don't make it, the Northern White rhinos will soon become... well, you know, ex–" but everyone cut off Jimmy Z, all yelling, "Don't you say it!"
The redhead shrank in his seat, met with the glowering expressions of the team. Even Amber's usual orange scales burned bright red, yellow eyes narrowed in anger.
After glaring down upon the pizza-eating pilot, Martin once again turned to the computer panel. "Hang on, Laura! We're on our way!"
"Oh, asante marafiki zangu! I'll let the others know about your arrival! Bye!" Then she signed off.
Not another moment was wasted as everyone made their preparations for the journey ahead.
"Hurry, Jimmy!"said Koki from the database. "Here are a coordinates! Set our course for Kenya!"
The sun had nearly sank below the African horizon when the terrapin silhouette of the Tortuga hovered over the grassy plains and woodlands. Below the turtle ship laid the destination: the main lodge of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Laura and a team of uniformed guards stood a safe distance away from the landing vessel, waiting expectantly on the arrival of their guests.
Before too long, the maw of the Tortuga opened and out came a metal ramp that carried the Wild Kratts team out to meet their hosts, Martin and Chris in the lead.
"Hi Laura!"
The blonde ranger raced forward to greet the two creature adventurers. "Salamu Martin! Jambo Chris!" She shook hands with Chris and wrapped her arms around the older Kratt in a warm embrace. "Good to see you!"
"My cracked ribs and I are happy to see you too!" Martin replied, feeling his face warming up, earning muffled chuckles from the rest of the team. Aviva, Koki, and Jimmy also exchanged their greetings to Laura and the rangers when a loud roar rumbled from within the lodge. As the Bros looked past the doorway, their eyes widened in fright upon seeing a tawny figure standing on the porch.
"Lion!"
The tech crew quickly scattered out of the way, leaving Martin and Chris at the mercy of the charging male lion who tackled the two to the ground, pinning them under his weight.
To everyone's utter surprise, the rangers simply laughed at the scene. "I'm sure you all remember Survivor."said Laura once she found her voice to speak.
Suddenly it came together. "Wait. That's Survivor?"asked Aviva incredulously as she looked at the big cat who was now scraping his raspy tongue against the bros' faces. She remembered when Survivor was an orphaned cub whom the team had rescued after his pride was killed by poachers more than four years ago. Survivor proved to be rambunctious and enthusiastic about everything, watching Aviva make her inventions, always with a crooked head; the young lion was also fascinated at the animals Chris and Martin brought back to the Tortuga, and even made a friend with Nubs the Black rhino calf. He stayed with the team until they brought him to the conservancy where Laura took it upon herself to be the cub's adoptive mother.
"Last time we saw him, he was only a cub!" Koki recalled, stunned at the dramatic growth of the once tiny cub as Jimmy looked on, mouth agape.
In a flash, the downed Kratt Brothers recognized the lion standing before them. Or rather on top of them.
"Survy!"exclaimed Martin as he patted Survivor's big head. "Good to see you too, buddy!" He scratched him in his favorite places, and a low, rumbling growl let the older Kratt know his pleasure as he rolled over on his back to let him scratch his stomach.
"Look how much you've grown!" Chris chuckled, ruffling the feline's rufous mane. Their initial fear gone, Aviva, Koki, and Jimmy couldn't resist fussing over the huge male lion who rolled like a happy house cat, enjoying the extra attention.
Suddenly Laura and the other rangers drew back in fright as a large reptilian creature darted out of the HQ, before standing behind the Wild Kratts team on its hind legs bristling with formidable claws, a long, skinny tail waving from side to side. The creature in question tilted its scaly head in an almost birdlike manner.
"What is that creature?"asked one guard nervously, shaking hands on his rifle.
"Ni mnyama wa ajabu!"screamed another in terror.
Even Survivor tilted his head in confusion upon seeing this strange, alien creature that was unlike anything he had seen before.
"Who– who's your friend?"asked a wide eyed Laura.
Martin and Chris raised their eyebrows at the rangers' reactions until they looked back to see the cause of their concern.
"Oh. Hey Amber."said the Kratt in green casually. Amber chirped a greeting.
"Oh right!"said Martin sheepishly as he began introductions, his hand upon the raptor's head. "Laura, this is Amber. Amber, Laura."
"Greetings, friend!"said the Velociraptor, playfully nudging against the woman's chest.
If Laura wasn't surprised before, she certainly was now. "Wow! It talks!"
"What sorcery is this?"asked one of the guards.
Aviva and Koki giggled in response. "Oh no. The only magic here is the Creature Thought Translator, made by yours truly."answered the inventor, patting Amber's scaly head adorned with a flat, gray mechanical pad with a hint of turquoise.
"Aviva made me this hat so that I may talk– GECKO!" Here the raptor's head suddenly darted towards the bush where her sharp eyes caught sight of a well camouflaged gecko crawling along the grass. Five seconds passed before she turned her attention back to the humans. "Aviva is good and smart."
"Aww. Thanks, sweetie."cooed the inventor as she scratched behind the theropod's ear slits. As Amber purred in bliss, Aviva once again addressed the rangers. "The CTT has been modified to read the brainwaves of the animal who wears it. See, the brainwaves are then transmitted here; the monitor then translates the thoughts into English using the digital voice."
To say that Laura was amazed would be a slight understatement. "Outstanding." She tentatively outstretched her hand for the raptor who sniffed it inquisitively. Her blue eyes flew wide open as she felt a wet tongue licking her palm.
"Don't worry. She won't bite."said Koki reassuringly.
"No I won't."
Casting aside her fear , the ranger tentatively reached out to gently touch the dinosaur's scaly hide, which was surprisingly warm for a creature of reptilian origin. Amber purred upon contact, raising her head to allow the awestruck woman to stroke under her chin. Laura smiled. The other rangers soon joined in, their initial trepidation gone, replaced by awe and fascination.
After making her acquaintance with the rangers, Amber turned her attention to an equally curious Survivor. The two carnivores eyed each other warily, sniffing each other as close as they dared. Eventually, the young dinosaur gently nudged her snout against the cat's shaggy mane, warbling a friendly chuff.
"He is so fluffy!" cooed the Velociraptor as she relished in the softness of the lion's mane.
Survivor, on his part, didn't so much as bare a single tooth as this strange oversized lizard carried the familiar scent of his cubhood rescuers. Instead, the big cat grated his rough tongue on Amber's cheek, earning a mechanical giggle from her CTT.
From the sidelines, both teams watched as these two radically different species, ancient and modern, interact with each other, relieved that neither one displayed any sign of aggression.
This is definitely something worth adding to the Creature Life List, thought the Kratt in green. An encounter between a living African lion and an extinct Velociraptor. Wait a minute. Extinct.. In a flash, Chris then remembered the reason he and his team were here. "Where's Sudan?"he asked.
"He's in his pen." Laura answered, her gloom returning. "He can't walk around as much as he used to. Forty five is very old age for a rhino."
"Come. We will take you to him."said one ranger in broken English.
"Thanks Mr– umm..." Martin paused. "Sorry. I didn't catch your name."
"Zacharia Mutai."came the reply as the guard offered the Kratts his right hand.
Zacharia then led the Wild Kratts to a wooden stockade where Sudan was being held. The gate parted, allowing everyone, ranger and creature adventurer alike, to file inside the enclosure where, laying motionless on a bed of hay, was Sudan himself, the last of the Northern White rhinos.
**** Just in case y'all were wondering, this story takes place some time between Of Raptors And Kratts and The Lost World, which should explain why there's a Velociraptor... :P
And as a warning, this story is not one with a happy ending.
Laura Wilkinson is a character who was inspired by SilverWaterBombadil's Kitty Carlo (SilverWater served as a major inspiration when it came to fanfics..) .She may not be a shapeshifter here, but she's a wildlife ranger who's a lot tougher than she looks. She's voiced by Grey Griffin, a.k.a Grey DeLisle. (Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo)
Survivor the lion is also a nod to SilverWater, in this case he's the lion cub who appeared in the Let the Rhinos Roll episode.
Part Two coming soon..
