CHAPTER 37
Albert had heard what Warble told Ward, and informed them that we had already done something similar in Australia. He then related the whole story, about how we recruited and coached animals to protect the indigenous people there from being persecuted and hounded and taken advantage of.
“Congratulations!” Warble said.
“Splendid work!” added Ward.
It still seemed mindbogglingly strange to Albert that Warble considered such doings anything other than folly, but he was glad that Warble was on his side, for once.
To make a long story shorter, after consulting with Albert and picking his brain on what had worked for them in Australia in the late 18th century, Warble and Ward had a proposition for my good human friend.
“Albert, how would you like to join us on a trip to the late 19th century in the Congo to deal with a similar situation?”
“It sounds intriguing, but I’d like to hear more about it first,” Albert replied.
So Warble and Ward explained the whole thing to Albert, about how Leopold had taken the entire region as his own and forced the native people of the Congo to work (in other words made them his slaves) and punished then — even with death! — if they did not produce as much as he required of them.
On hearing this, Albert, too, was all in. Nothing made him more angry than the strong oppressing the weak, the already-rich making themselves richer yet on other people’s blood, sweat, and tears.
“I will go. I will be glad to go. I mean, I’m not glad that it’s necessary for me to go, but I will be glad to have a part in helping to eradicate such evil from the annals of history.
“I will talk it over with Taterskin and the other animals, but I’m fairly certain that they will come along with us and willingly give us a paw — many paws, to be more precise. Come to think of it,” Albert said, looking up at the ceiling and rubbing his chin with his right thumb and forefinger, “That reminds me of something Tubthumper was telling me about . . .”
“Yes?” Ward asked. “What was it?”
“If all of us went, and took care of this Leopold problem in the Congo, we could do something for the animals afterward, as a way of repaying them for their help . . . and simply because it’s the right thing to do.”
“What do you have in mind, exactly, Albert?” Warble asked.
“Tubthumper told me that for long periods of time in Africa, Elephants were killed by hunters. Their tusks would then be removed and sold. The humans didn’t really need the tusks for anything — it was simply for fashion and to satisfy superstitions and support medicinal quackery.”
“So your plan is to . . .” Ward prodded.
“Put these poachers completely out of business, once and for all. We can show the animals how to protect themselves by forming a coalition — all of them will protect each other, whenever and wherever such diabolical things are about to happen or are being planned.”
Warble and Ward agreed to support the project.
“And it was not only Elephants,” Albert went on. “Rhinos were killed for their horns in the same way. Gorillas were also killed to provide traditional medicine of dubious value — and for their meat, as the eating of Gorillas was considered a status symbol for the wealthy. Worse yet, perhaps, Gorillas were also killed for their heads, hands, and feet, which were desired as showpieces by collectors of macabre and gruesome curiosities.
“Besides the Gorillas, many other animals with beautiful skins, such as Cheetahs and Leopards and Zebras, were killed for their coats. And oftentimes people simply killed a large animal on a hunting safari so they could brag about their bravado in taking down such a large beast, as if doing so made them more manly.”
“‘Great White Hunter’ syndrome,” Ward said.
“To make it truly sporting, they should have taken on those animals with their bare hands and nothing more,” Albert said. “The animals don’t have firearms. Let the people face them that way — just with the equipment they were born with. No maps, no jeeps, no guns; nothing but their bodies and their wits.”
Warble laughed. “Yes, that would fix their wagon — only those with a prodigious quantity of bravery or stupidity would hunt big game then. OK; let’s do it. First, we go after King Leopold and his minions, then the Poachers.”
“Agreed!” Ward and Albert said.
“I will go talk to Taterskin, the Elephants, and the others about it now,” Albert said. He then walked out the door and headed toward the watering hole, where he knew we would be gathered.
Taterskin & The Eco Defenders (in paperback, kindle, or hardcover) is available here.