The baby stood quietly by the tree and ate the leaves he could reach. He turned and watched the small animal that had brought him here. He knew he couldnt run away, but for some reason, he still felt safe. He knew that no other animal could harm him here. There were no other animals like him here, but he knew they were close, he could still smell them in the air. He was happy the small animal sat far away from him, its smell made his nose burn, and reminded him of the other animals that made his mother go to sleep. He turned away from the small thing, and went back to the tree and eating the leaves, maybe he would sleep for a while.
Sara watched the baby and waited for the ranger to get to their house. It was getting hotter outside, and the shade was moving away. She would have to go back inside if it got much hotter out here. Mom called her in to eat lunch, but she just wasnt hungry today, although those grilled ham sandwiches did smell good, they were her favorites. She decided she had better go try and eat, it would be along time till dinner, and it would help pass the time till the ranger got there.
While Sara and Jimmy were eating their lunch, they told mom about who they passed on the trail. There were some men they saw that were dressed like the rangers dressed, but they didnt recognise them. They think maybe they might have been the poachers instead, and dressed like that to fool anyone they past. The trail they were on circled around to the area they found the baby and its mom. When the ranger got there, they would tell him exactly what those men looked like, and how they were dressed. Sara kind of wished the ranger would get there, so they could go find the poachers. It had been a few hours since they got back home and mom had called, so maybe he would be here soon.
Soon after they finished their lunch, they could here the sound of a jeep coming down the road. They were sure the kids in the village had heard about the baby by this time, even in Africa, that kind of news traveled fast. They knew the jeep was from the ranger, but sometimes he would bring some of the village kids with him if there was something fun to see. Today was no different. He had two of Sara and Jimmy's friends in his jeep with him. The kids were happy to see their friends, and show off their new sorta pet. They knew this ranger, but were never good at saying his African name the right way, so they called him Mike. That was OK with him, he said, as long as they called him when they needed him. Mike was a very nice man. He loved the Plains and the animals on them. He just wanted to make sure all the animals were safe and allowed to live the way they were supposed to. And he didnt like poachers at all.
After Mike got out of the Jeep, he stood at a distance and looked at the baby. From where he was standing, the baby looked healthey, maybe about 4 months old, too young to be away from its mother, and also too young to left alone. He might be able to reintroduce him to the herd, if he doesnt wait too long. Mike wanted to check him out before he was put back into the wild, and to do that, he would have to put him to sleep for a while. It would only last about 15 minutes, so he would have to work fast. Mike got out a special gun and loaded a sleeping dart into it and shot the baby in the rear end. He would stay with him and make sure everything was alright. He wanted to tag the baby so they could track him in the future. This opportunity didnt come up very often, to be able to track a baby giraffe. It would help them learn more about giraffes, and he made sure the kids all knew what he was doing. He wanted the kids to be carefull and respect the animals also.
Mike did all his inspections on the baby and put a tracking chip in his ear. While he was doing all this, Sara and Jimmy were telling him where they found the baby and all about the men they had seen on the trail. They could take him right back to where they found the baby and show him everything they saw. They just wanted Mike to catch the poachers. The baby started to wake up, and Mike warned the kids to back up by the house. He didnt know what the baby would do when he woke up.
The baby woke up from a sleep that confused him. He didnt remember going to sleep, and he could smell those other animals all around him. He was scared now, and wanted to run away. He jumped to his feet as fast as he could and ran to the other side of the yard, forgetting he couldnt get out. He hit the fence and stopped with no where to go. He just wanted to stay away from those other animals. There were more of them now than before, where was the small one,the one that made him feel safe. Suddenly he saw her. He knew he would be safe, but he still wanted to get away from those other ones. He didnt know them, and their smell was very strong. He didnt know if he was safe from them. He was scared and wanted to be with his own kind.
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