There is something missing from our world. The amazing animals that time has left behind. But what if we can bring them back? What if extinction didn't have to be forever? We're going back in time on a safari with a difference, as wild life adventurer Nigel Marven plunges into pre-history to rescue creatures on the brink of extinction. His plan is to bring them back to the safety of the present and give them a second chance.
This time Nigel plans to travel back to the Ice Age to rescue an American elephant that lived alongside woolly mammoths and an extinct cow which lived until the time of humans.
Welcome to the ultimate wildlife sanctuary. Welcome to Prehistoric Park!
Chapter 27- A Yuletide Adventure
As the year starts to come to a close at Prehistoric Park everyone is settling down for a break. The cave bears had gone into hibernation and the climate devices had produced a foot of snow. However there are still jobs to do at the park.
"Whoa there people. Cronus will take you with that thing if you're not careful!" Bob the Head Keeper yelled. The crew were using a wooden device to put a giant carcass of an animal for Cronus the T-Rex to eat. The other female Tyrannosaur was busily eating another carcass, the black feathers on top of her head glistening red with blood.
Although Cronus was the parks second resident he knows to stay away from Sue the female Rex. Female Tyrannosaurs are much larger and more deadlier than their male counterparts.
Cronus managed to bite the carcass and pull it off the apparatus with one flick of his mighty head. To say that the carcass was that of a giant bull he managed to do this without any effort. Crew members started moving the apparatus as they looked tentatively at the feathered despot beyond the fence. He stared at them with narrow amber eyes and rumbled threateningly at them before he opened his great jaws and bit down on the leg of his meal. There was an unnervingly loud crack as his jaws smashed through the bone with ease.
"T-Rex had some of the most powerful jaws in history," Bob explained "They needed it when scavenging to break the bones of carcasses and to inflict damage on living meals or enemies. Wow Nigel has been really rubbing off on me."
A voice came through Bob's Bluetooth: "Bob could you meet me and Nigel at Mammoth Mount. He's giving his next mission." It was Chiyo. Bob shook his head. Nigel wouldn't let something like a Hanukkah/Christmas break coming up to stop him from saving more animals. Bob put his boots and coat on before heading to the Mammoths; the climate devices had brought foot deep snow in some areas despite the island chain only being a few miles off the Costa Rican coast. When he arrived Suzanne and Chiyo were wrapped up warmly in coats and scarves with Nigel looking fondly at the mammoths.
Nigel saved the two female mammoths after they were attacked by Ice Aged hunters; the parks male mammoth was rescued after he almost trampled Nigel and Chiyo with the woolly rhino Coelodonta.
"You might like my mission today," Nigel said to Bob who did not look pleased. Normally when Nigel looked this happy he was about to rescue some form of animal which wanted to rip him limb from limb. "A few thousand years ago there were many different types Ice Age elephants other than the mammoths here. I want to rescue another type: the American Mastodon. But I want to rescue another animal from Poland." Bob rolled his eyes. "The Auroch, a species of cattle that went extinct as soon as 1627. Then we'll put up our feet until the new year."
"Excellent!" Bob said in happiness "I can fix a quick exhibit on Sorna for any other thing that you bring back and I'll extend this one so we can have Mammoths, Mastodon, Coelodonta and Aurochs in the same exhibit. My daughter Abi will be here soon as well so she can spend the holiday at the park!"
On the first part of their adventure Nigel and Chiyo plan to rescue the American Mastodon. The Mastodon was a smaller elephant that diverged from mammoths and modern elephants 27 million years ago. They lived all across North America until 10,500 years ago when human hunting wiped them out. Their smaller size made them a prime target so climate change couldn't pick them off like with the mammoth. Nigel and Chiyo will go to rescue the last few in the modern Great Lakes area.
Nigel and Chiyo emerged from the portal into a winter swept land. Conifers were scattered around the landscape with their branches weighed down with a blanket of snow. Chiyo though spotted something sticking out of the ground. It was brown and was deeply submerged in the freezing snow. She pulled it out and saw that it was the front end of a broken arrow. There was a snap in the middle and a stone arrow head with red dyed on the freezing stone.
"Hunters have been here," she said "If you look carefully there's some tracks. If we follow them we might find some Mastodon."
"We most likely will," Nigel explained "Green Stripe and Cicada are experts on history so I asked them about early people here and they explained that they were nomads who came from a possible land bridge over what is now the Bering Strait. There's little large wildlife in Siberia so when they came here it must have been a wonderland with mastodon, mammoths, camels and ground sloths. Mastodons went extinct through overhunting thanks to this."
They had brought snowmobiles to help trekking over the snow coated land much easier. The land stretched out for miles with conifers dotted around the landscape making it seem almost Christmassy, although with much less tinsel and many more footprints of Palaeolithic hunters. Nigel quickly got off his snowmobile and ushered Chiyo over. There was a group of elephant like footprints which were too small for a mammoth.
"Quite shallow," he said "They are close…"
Suddenly there was a howling noise. They turned around to see a pack of overly large grey wolves standing next to their snowmobiles. The alpha male cocked his head up and howled. Nigel quickly noted that two of them looked young; the spring pups on their first hunt. The wolves then darted at them so as in a typical Prehistoric Park adventure they ran for their lives. A nearby tree offered the perfect hiding place and they quickly scrambled up with the wolves snapping at their ankles.
It seems that Nigel and Chiyo are appetisers for the wolves of the Ice Age Great Lakes if they are not careful.
"Dire Wolves," Nigel said as a male howled again "They lived all across the Americas and hunted megafauna like mastodon and sloths while the smaller grey wolves hunted deer. They look hungry for us however."
Nigel had an idea. They were close to some other trees and Chiyo was fairly good at gymnastics. He told Chiyo his plan who reluctantly agreed; largely as the wolves were doubtful to leave. Dire wolves were dependent on the megafauna so as mammoths and mastodons disappeared so would the wolves making them a prime candidate for Prehistoric Park. Chiyo then commenced Nigel's plan: she jumped from one tree to another as Nigel distracted the wolves by making loud noises. When she was a few trees away she dropped down making the wolves turn towards her. They started barking and darted towards her. Quickly she opened the portal sending the wolves through.
Back at the park Bob is showing his daughter over for Christmas the unexpected occurrences of his job.
Abi didn't look well after seeing the wolves tear apart chunks of meat in their newly built exhibit. The alpha-male howled eerily in the cold air.
"Does Nigel often bring unexpected things back?" she asked.
"Without fail," he said laughing "That's why I always build one or two exhibits extra so I won't get caught out. Now to show you the Dimetrodon."
"My friends would love it here," she said "Too bad the park has to be a secret."
Suddenly Bob's Bluetooth started going again with the Head of Human Security Nima Cruz talking through it: "Bob quickly to the Security Room."
He grabbed Abi by the hand and took her to the Security Room with him; just in case. The atmosphere was tense, Ray Arnold was drinking coffee like there was no tomorrow, Robert Muldoon was staring at the screen avidly, Nima Cruz was fiddling with a pen, Suzanne was chewing her sleeve and even Green Stripe was there with his arms folded in a corner, (helmeted as always).
"What's happened?" Bob asked.
"Intruder," Nima replied "Arnold picked them up on security getting off a ship and immediately hiding. They're currently hiding in the Generator Complex, near the generator for the fencing on Western Sorna. We took Hammond to be with the Neaderthals for safety and Cicada's gone to get them."
Abi looked at the screen and gasped: "I know those people." On screen were two boys and a girl aged seventeen. "They're my friends, well two are. I thought they were joking when they said they would stowaway. There's Lauren and Danny my two best friends. Alex is there and we don't get along. His dad owns the shipping company that transports to the park so that's how they must have snuck in."
"I shall go get them," Green Stripe said drolly "Cicada most likely would think that they betrayed your trust and throw them through a window."
Back in the Ice Age Great Lakes it seems that Nigel and Chiyo have found the mastodon after their run in with the wolves.
They arrived at nightfall to see two herds of two different species. One they recognised as being woolly mammoths but the others were smaller in height. They made up this by being more muscular and being longer. Nearby was a group of three males of the other elephant but there was no males for the mammoths.
"Look Mastodon!" Nigel exclaimed "This is excellent. Wait. What's that?"
There was a slight glow in the distance but the mammoths and mastodon instantly became worried. An arrow sped through the darkness and impaled itself on the mammoth matriarch's shoulder.
It seems that Ice Age man is looking for food tonight. Nigel and Chiyo have to be careful or the Ice Age elephants may view them as another threat.
The matriarch stumbled off into the night with the hunters chasing them. The mastodon and mammoth started ambling towards the two modern day rescuers in sheer terror. Nigel and Chiyo had to act quickly or otherwise they would be trampled under the feet of two herds of frightened elephants and the feet of three males. Nigel scrambled for the portal but it was snagged on his bag! He fumbled quickly as the stampede got ever closer. Just as they were about to get hit then WHOOSH the portal opened sending them through.
In the park Bob now has to deal with two elephant herds as well as Abi's stowaway friends.
"I'm worried about the mammoths," Nigel said "All of these mammoths are quite young so it would be difficult for them to pick a matriarch. Wait, Martha and Ellie are much older with them and it is not uncommon for elephants to adopt members into the herd when a matriarch isn't available. We may have solved our problem."
The mammoths and mastodon turned out to be very trusting, well the females were. Abi and some of Prehistoric Park staff were able to directly feed them hay with their long furry trunks, perfectly suited to Ice Age climates.
"Bob can you sought out our stowaways when I rescue our Aurochs?" Nigel asked.
"Of course."
The Aurochs was a large species of cattle that lived throughout Eurasia and were a common sight. However when humans started overhunting them their population declined in the 13th century. Overhunting and domestication of generations reducing the gene pool caused the last aurochs to die in Poland in 1627. To avoid encountering humans Nigel is going back to when the aurochs first started to die out 1,500 years ago in Krakow.
They emerged on a snow filled plain to see a herd of giant cattle where the males had great curving horns. The Aurochs looked more like water buffalo than typical European cattle. However what got their attention was a crash behind them. Two large deer with staggering 2 metre long antlers were smashing into each other as females and another male was watching.
"Megaloceros giganteus or commonly called the Irish Elk. They lived throughout Eurasia, not just Ireland, until as recently as 1,500 years ago evidence has shown. We don't know why they went extinct but one theory is that females couldn't eat enough food so their milk didn't have enough nutrients to make the calves grow strong so they couldn't escape predators."
"This is a battle for territory," Chiyo explained "It's nowhere near breeding time so they must be fighting over the best territory to feed their mates as you said."
Nigel had a plan. He pulled out a claxon and got behind the herd. He started making a noise causing the skittish deer to dart towards Chiyo who then opened the portal sending them through. They repeated the process with the Aurochs except with one male. A giant male almost skewered Nigel who charged him with its giant horns and had to do a matador routine with his coat to avoid the very pointy horns. Luckily he managed to lure it into the portal.
Now with the Aurochs and Megaloceros safely in the extended exhibit the Prehistoric Park staff have to deal with another problem…
"Lauran quick in here!" they heard a boy shout.
Cicada and Green Stripe had cornered the three stowaways at the Carboniferous House when Nigel and Abi caught up with them. They entered the Carboniferous House and were instantly hit by the oxygen rich air.
"Abi your friends do not seem to appear very observant," Green Stripe commented after a Meganeura flew overhead which the three did not notice. The friends opened a door and hid under a fern.
"What's that noise?" Daniel asked. There was a scuttling noise.
"Shut up Dan!" Alex yelled "You've been complaining all the time. I've got it worse I've lost my lucky coin."
There was another scuttling noise. The foliage behind them moved.
"I can hear it as well," Lauren said "I think something's in here with us."
A log in front of them started to move before it reared up revealing to be a giant centipede the length of a man. They fell back speechless as it waved the many tiny legs at them.
"Cover your eyes they can spit poison," Cicada said to them "He will not attack you if you make no sudden movements."
He pulled the three out of the Arthropleura exhibit and to relative safety.
"We're mad that you snuck here but you can stay for Christmas," Nigel said smiling.
Suddenly a device in Nigel's pocket whirred. It was something that Arnold had invented that told Nigel when and how an animal escaped. It showed a sandy exhibit with claw marks on the wall and a railing which had been bitten until it tore off. The top read: Velociraptors, Power shutdown after coin disrupted circuit.
"Oops," Alex said, (although not in an apologetic way).
Bob then came over the Bluetooth: "Nigel the Velocirpators have used the underwater tunnel to get to Nublar and heading towards Mammoth Mount!"
Nigel ran to the Mammoth Mount just as a snarling pack of Velociraptors arrived. Although not even the size of a human their tenacity and intelligence made them a threat even to a pregnant mammoth like Martha.
The sandy feathered raptors snarled and surrounded Martha who snorted and waved her trunk in distress. She stamped her foot at one but it didn't deter the hungry raptor. Suddenly there was a trumpet of another mammoth which Nigel though was Ellie the mammoth but it wasn't. It was one of the new young mammoths. The rest of the herd arrived with Ellie and scared off the raptors who were quickly tranquilised and transported back to their fixed exhibit. The park has a new full family.
Before the park can settle there is one problem left to resolve.
"Lauran, Dan good to see you again!" Bob said happily shaking their hands "Abi talks about you all the time. The basis of Prehistoric Park is Chiyo and Nigel goes back in time, rescues extinct animals and I then look after them. Best job in tha' world it is. I'll give you a guided tour tomorrow."
"Well this place is terrible!" Alex complained "A waste of a tropical, private island."
"Alex," Chiyo said "Do you want me to give you a tour?"
He looked at her and his eyes practically jumped out of his sockets.
"Green Stripe and Cicada will be our personal chauffeurs and they wanted to give you a good look at one of the residents. Which one was it?"
"Terrance and Matilda," Green Stripe replied.
"You'll love them and I feel they will love to meet you up close and personal."
Now with the park settled and a bully scared half to death the park can settle down for the holidays.
Next time Nigel travels back to Cretaceous Egypt to rescue the largest carnivorous dinosaur.
Nigel and Chiyo run from a dinosaur.
But encounter an equally large reptile which challenges it.
A giant crocodile bursts from the water.
And Suzanne has to look at the recent arrivals.
A Mastodon reaches out to her
All next time on Prehistoric Park, (on New Year's Day)
Rescued this Chapter:
23 Aurochs 12 male, 11 female
6 Irish Elk 3 female, 3 male
14 Mastodon 11 female, 3 male
9 Mammoths 9 female
7 Dire Wolves 3 female, 4 male
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and have a happy New Year.
