CHAPTER 40
We did decide on one somewhat mundane but nevertheless important matter before we began with our coaching of the local animals: Albert, Warble, Ward, and we animals had a meeting at which we agreed on a collective name for ourselves. As I mentioned earlier, it was based on the new nickname that Warble had given himself. That’s when we officially began calling ourselves The Eco Defenders.
Tubthumper and Chumbawumba were to coach the Elephants, Giraffes, and Gorillas (Chum, true to form, referred to the tactics the giant simians would engage in as “Gorilla Warfare”; he thought he was being original and funny with that play on words but, of course, he wasn’t); Rory and Stripes joined forces, coaching the Lions, Leopards and Cheetahs, with Marmalade along as an “Observer”; Ocero Puddleby was assigned to coach his fellow Rhinos as well as Hippos and Cape Buffaloes; Yukyuk took charge of her fellow Hyenas as well as the Camels, Gazelles, Impalas, Springboks, Wildebeests and Zebras; Terri and Drako were assigned to handle Drako’s family, the Bearded Dragons (whereupon Terri saw that Drako was not a ‘shrimp’ after all, but was actually the normal size for her species) and the various Snakes, Crocodiles, and Scorpions, as well as insects such as Beetles and Ants; Rinky was to help Albert with the Dolphins off the coast; it was Rovette, mainly (with a little help from me) who coached the Wolves and Ostriches, while I had general oversight of the whole operation, serving as a bridge, or liaison, between all of the groups. Last but certainly not least, Alexis would take the birds in hand — not only fellow Parrots, but also Eagles, Hawks, Falcons, Cormorants, and Vultures. In addition to them, Alexis was to coach Africa’s most deadly animal, the Mosquitoes. These bloodsucking spreaders of disease were coached separately from the other insects (for which Drako and Terri had responsibility) and were only to be used if absolutely necessary, as “the nuclear option.”
Each of us went about gathering the animal species we had been asked to coach. We didn’t need all of the animals on the continent to get coached up, as there were at least quadrillions of us in Africa at the time. We did want all of the animals to be aware of the operation, though, so that they would be ready for a quick tutorial when and if their help was needed in other parts of the vast region.
As to those we did choose for coaching, we concentrated on those living in the regions of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, as this was to be the theater of our confrontation with the would-be colonizers from Belgium.
Each of us had several hundred animals of all the chosen species attending our coaching sessions, with hundreds of times more volunteers that we had to turn back due to lack of space. Even though we assembled for our maneuvers in large valleys, there was still a limit to how many Elephants and Giraffes and Gorillas could be assembled in one spot — or Rhinos and Hippos and Cape Buffaloes, for another instance.
Information shared between the groups was relayed mainly by means of the swifter Birds and the bands of Cheetahs and Gazelles, who raced at full speed throughout the area to spread whatever news needed to be disseminated. Cheetahs can sometimes reach a speed of 80 mph; Gazelles are no slouches either, maxing out at around 60.
To carry the news outside of the area — which was not as urgent but still needed to be done — Springboks, Impalas, and Ostriches by land and Birds such as Eagles, Hawks, and Falcons by air were used. They were more than capable in fulfilling those duties in a timely manner.
The coaching proceeded as it had in Australia a century earlier (which seemed to us as if it had happened recently, as we had passed through a time warp between then and now, ripping and zipping through the folds of space and time).
Once they were ready to do so, the combined forces of animals came together for joint exercises in a vast and spacious valley near Bolobo not far from the Congo River.
Any humans (besides Albert, Ward, and Warble) who approached the coaching zone were gently but firmly herded away from the area by Wolf and Leopard sentinels. The reason for the secrecy was that we wanted our confrontation with the first wave of Belgian soldiers and mercenaries and adventurers (which we hoped would be the only such confrontation needed) to catch everyone off guard.
One day, I was meeting with Stripes, Tubthumper (who, as the more level-headed of our two Elephants, had overall charge of the larger mammals, known as the ‘Charismatic Megafauna’), and the other group leaders when a Cheetah, which had been sent by our human friends, came galloping up.
Between gasps for air (he had been running at top speed for miles), the Cheetah said, “The Belgians are coming! . . . They have been sighted by Rinky and the Dolphins and the Seabirds . . . They will arrive . . .”
“Where, Jubatus? Where will they arrive?” I asked.
“They have turned their ship up the Congo River,” the Cheetah answered. He had now had time to catch his breath, and told us that they were nearing Boma, but that the seabirds who had alighted on the ship heard them say that they would dock at Matadi, and disembark from there.
“Excellent work, Jubatus, thank you!” I said. Stripes and Rory and Tubthumper stepped forward and exclaimed, in a beautifully resonant harmony that combined a low growl with a silky resonant purr and an earth-shaking trumpeting, “We are ready! Let’s meet them at Matadi!”
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