Zoo Story by Thomas French

Author:Thomas French
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Hyperion

That spring taught them all a new definition of hectic. The construction crews hurried to finish Safari Africa before the grand opening, and giraffes and zebras and warthogs were being unloaded from trucks, and Virginia and the crews seemed to be driving off every morning at dawn to release yet another manatee, and the primate department was admiring a new baby Colobus monkey—a surprise. The staff had not even been aware that one of the females was pregnant.

Kevin McKay walked by the Colobus enclosure one morning, and everything was normal. A few minutes later he passed by again and was startled to see a newborn male, still connected by the umbilical cord. Within a day or so, all of the females were competing to take care of the new baby. One would hold him, then another would snatch him away. Kevin suggested, to anyone who’d listen, that the little monkey should be named after him.

“I don’t think so,” said Lee Ann. She smiled and shook her head, knowing that Kevin was just practicing the art of being Kevin. He aspired, more than anything, to become an alpha and thought it would increase his chances if he could only get every male animal in the place christened in his honor. Kevin was a bunnyhugger, but not a baby-talking bunnyhugger. In his own way, he was classically male, trying to mark the entire zoo as his territory. When other departments weren’t looking, he would sneak into their offices and scribble his name on calendars, on bulletin boards, on any blank space available.

In the Asia department, Carie Peterson had declared a temporary truce in the war between her and the herps department. Carie had been hatching a plan to stock Dustin’s office with some Madagascar hissing cockroaches because she knew that Dustin, though he worked with spiders and millipedes, was terrified of roaches. She had wondered whether he would actually scream. But now she had no time for idle vendettas, because Enshalla finally appeared to be warming to the newly seductive powers of Eric. Most of the time she still growled. But on some mornings, she seemed smitten and rubbed against the mesh between their dens. Carie knew Enshalla was going into estrus because her urine was milky. Obviously, the time had arrived to chance putting the two tigers together.

The first meeting did not go well. Enshalla lowered herself close to the ground and began hunting Eric. He seemed oblivious to what was happening until she sprang at him and sent him running. Finally she cornered him and jumped onto his back. Watching on with a fire hose, the keepers sprayed water in the tigers’ direction until Enshalla retreated. Eric did not seem to realize that he was strong enough to defeat her in a second, which was probably for the best. Eric licked his paws, looking frightened and confused. Enshalla sprayed her scent, then climbed to the top of the tiger platform to declare her supremacy.

Still the queen.

The Asia staff would not accept defeat.

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