Daktari

The plunger was slowly pulled back and the white coloured, chemical, slowly rushed into the barrel.

“Now hold him steady,” ordered Sushila, the newly qualified Vet from University, as she held the syringe close to the cub’s neck and slowly inserted it in the animal’s neck and injected the medication.

“Daktari,” said her South African assistant, as he released the cub and looked down at the dirt on the ground and saw some tyre marks,

“What is it, Baruti?” asked the natural dark, brown, haired Indian, as she put the medical equipment back in the case and looked at her assistant.

Baruti, the young South African, pointed at the tyre marks and slowly followed them. The marks were of a land rover. The Vet followed her assistant and soon saw that he was pointing at a wounded lion, lying on the dirt covered ground, licking its wound. Not wanting to startle the animal, Sushila whispered to her assistant.

“Give me the rifle!”

The assistant took out the empty bag of tranquiliser darts and handed over the rifle to his boss. Sushila began to load the rifle, when suddenly she realised that there were no tranquilisers.
“What is wrong with you?” she whispered, “Why are there no tranquilisers?”

“We have no more available,” replied Baruti, as he sadly looked at her, “The suppliers are no longer giving us anything on credit.”

Sushila whipped out her mobile and began to dial a number. Suddenly a helicopter zoomed, low, over them and continued flying in a northerly direction.

“Hunters,” warned Baruti, as he dived to the ground and took his boss down with him, alerting the wounded animal nearby.
“They are in search of Elephant,” he said.

Sushila, quickly got up, picked up her mobile and dialled the number again, when she was pulled down again. Baruti pointed at a wounded animal in the distance to warn her. The animal slowly got up and began to limp away.

“Hold this,” ordered the Vet, as she handed the mobile to her assistant and  fumbled through a small bag that she had been carrying herself and found some tranquilising darts. She grabbed the rifle, loaded it and put the butt of it to her shoulder, took aim and fired. Seconds later, the animal fell. 

“I will not let them close the clinic, Baruti,” the Vet told her assistant; as she knelt down to examine the wound on the lion that was now unconscious, “We have to get it to the clinic as soon as possible. It’s septic and needs to be treated.”

Baruti, quickly took out a kit bag and began to apply some ointment and then wrapped a bandage around the wound, as his boss, phoned the clinic and requested assistance.

“Oh and contact the rangers and tell them that we have seen a helicopter, flying northwards, possible hunters after some Elephants,” continued Sushila, as she looked up at the blue sky and saw something in the distance.

She switched off the phone and tried to look harder at what she saw and then looked down at the landscape. There was dust in the air and a sound of gun fire was heard.

“The Rangers are there fighting,” said Baruti, as he began to lift the wounded animal onto a stretcher, “firing at the hunters from their helicopter.”

With that the two, picked up the stretcher and began to move. At that moment, a helicopter flew over and slowly started to descend and then landed.

“Miss Nayyar,” said the pilot, as he came rushing out. It was Jan Michaels, a pilot and a Ranger, “got some darts. We may need your assistance as there are some wounded Elephants. If you come with me, Baruti can back with the Lion.”

The assistant agreed and Sushila, jumped into the helicopter.

“The hunters have fled,” said the pilot, as they prepared to take off, “but a lot of Elephants need care and have been tranquilised.  We may not be able to save some as their tusks have been sawn off and are bleeding but there are others who are not so bad and it’s those that I need you to look at.”

“These will die if they don’t get to a clinic, soon” said Sushila, as she began to examine two baby Elephants and looked around at more. But then reality hit her. The two baby Elephants were orphaned and tears appeared in her eyes.

The hunters had certainly gone but they had left bodies of dead Elephants with no tusks.

Jan Michaels walked back into the helicopter and radioed his headquarters and requested for heavy duty transport to be sent.

“Well!” he said, as he returned to where the Vet was sitting on the dirty, sand coloured, ground and saw her stroking the two baby Elephants, “the vehicles are being despatched and should be here in an hour.”

Sushila took out a syringe and prepared to put the two baby Elephants to sleep. They would soon become her babies.