Trudging toward the elephantine shapes before them, the team began to fan out, trying to get a good measure of what lay before them. Most common amongst the herbivores were bison - chiefly the ancient bison, Bison antiquus, but surprisingly enough, there were quite a few members of the species Bison latifrons - the giant Ice Age Bison. That had caught the team off guard - said species should be extinct by now, yet here it was. The large herbivores were grazing, oblivious to the presence of the humans, wo were downwind of them. Joining them were both of the proboscideans native to the area - the American Mastodon and Columbian Mammoth. While the mammoths grazed with the bison, the mastodon instead focused on devouring the nearby trees, occasionally eating a fruit that was either plucked from the trees or lying on the ground.
This was more than the team could have hoped for - a perfect rescue lay right before them. Cautiously, they began to circle around, already planning out how to rescue these beasts. Yet as they made those plans, new shapes came into view that rendered them moot.
The forms were unmistakably cat like, but unlike the lions, these cats lacked long tales. Additionally, the cats in question had very prominent canine teeth - even with their maws closed, the teeth were visible. Already, the cats were looking at the mastodon, sizing them up for an attack.
They were saber tootehd cats, there was no doubt. But the shape of their limbs pointed to them being excellent runners, something Smilodon was not. Thus, there was only one possibility - these were Homotherium, the scimitar-toothed cat. And right now, they were zeroing in on a baby mastodon.
Without even a word, the team changed tactics - perhaps they would be able to save five species here, instead of just for.
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Unnoticed by the humans, another species of cat was watching them with curious eyes. They had already been observing the herd for almost an hour when the scimitar-toothed cats had arrived. Though the mammoths had presented an appetizing target, the stalkers had ultimately settled on attacking the bison - those were more likely to scatter, whereas the tusked herbivores would certainly stand and fight. Additionally, whilst the adults mammoths were too big to take on, even the smallest of these cats could wrestle down a bison on their own.
Thus, carefully, they had maneuvered themselves to get in position so as to assault the horned herbivores. If the humans got in the way...well, they wouldn't be too hard to force off.
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Back at the park, Jane had been moved into a holding pen. Here, she was being checked by Suzanne and another veterinarian named Albert, whilst a third member of the staff, Pierson, watched over them. As one of the park's nurses (yes, men could be nurses, please stop bugging him about that!), t was his job to make sure the staff was in tip-top shape. And with all the new and dangerous arrivals that had arrived, that meant watching everyone examining the newcomers, lest they do something stupid.
For the sake of keeping Jane calm, Terence had also been moved over to a holding pen, in view of his mate. Though this only marginally improved her temper, it wasn't the worst that could happen.
So far, things had gone well today - a whole menagerie of mammals had been rescued, and were already settling into their exhibits just fine. Amongst them, the shrot faced bear was proving the most troublesome to house, but even it was manageable enough. A large supply of meat and bones, mixed in with a significantly smaller amount of plant matter, was enough to calm it. Inevitably, it would become irritable again, but that would subside once it began to explore its new home - a mix of scrub, woodlands, and plains, where there were plenty of source of food, from berries, to fish, and even a couple feral pigs that had moved into the area which the staff had neglected to remove. Granted, it was generally assumed the bear would be used to deal with them, so this was intentional - said bear was used to killing animals far more dangerous than boars, so the risk of lethal injury was all but nonexistent.
In a nearby enclosure, the newly arrived shrub ox were being checked by another of Suzanne's subordinates. The oxen were intimidated by the arrival of the tyrannosaurs, but so far, they weren't running, which was a plus. The young, however, were more than terrified of the giant herbivores, and were already cowering behind their mothers.
Before Pierson could think any further on this, though, the portal opened, and out came a mixed herd of bison and mastodon. Following them were a pack of saber toothed cats, which quickly broke off the chase when they realized they were in a new Landscape. Hastily, the staff herded them into a holding pen lest they run rampant in the park, or worse still, retreat back into the past.
Oddly, though, even after the cats were corralled into a holding pen, the portal did not close. That was certainly an oddity - the team normally didn't leave the portal open unless they were coming back through it or expecting more rescues. So why did the portal continue to remain agape?
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Just as the team activated the portal, the scimitar toothed cats finally launched their assault. The whole pack leapt forward, zeroing in on a young mastodon that had wandered away from its mother. Though it appeared to be an easy meal, the calf had not moved so far away that it was unable to reach its mother. Within seconds, the baby was back in the herd. The bison, unwilling to stand their ground against such muscular cats, charged toward the portal, as did the mastodon, with the cats quick to follow.
Yet before the team could celebrate, another pack of cats burst forth from the grass, eyes focused on a bison that had gotten separated from the herd. In the ensuing chaos, the cats managed to divert the bison away from the portal, instead diverting toward a nearby pond, spooking a drinking jaguar into running toward the portal...wait, what was a jaguar doing there?
…..Wait, a pond?...
The minute the team registered what, exactly, might cause a pond to form here, they paled. Sure enough, the bison charged straight into the pond...as did the cats...and even a baby mammoth that had gotten caught up in the chaos.
Within moments, the weight of the megafauna broke through the thin covering on the surface of the tar pits, and the myriad mammals became trapped in the molten asphalt. Confused and scared, they cried out, trying to break free. Overhead, carnivorous birds circled, waiting for an easy meal.
The team watch all of this for a moment, before turning their attention toward the portal. Perhaps it was time to call for another tow?
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AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!
