(Y/n) POV

It's been several weeks since that rescue in the jungle, I've contacted the Wild Kratts crew a couple of times when I've been allowed to, but I just need to focus on my mission. About two weeks ago, I was assigned by Uncle Sam to help patrol and train new rangers at a wildlife sanctuary in southern Africa. I am on patrol in a jeep driving along the perimeter electrical fence, which only has enough electricity to deliver a slight shock depending on the animal touching the fence, not permanently harm them, but I come across some disturbed vegetation. I stop the jeep, get out and check the fence, and come to find something has climbed or broken through the fence and left a little bit of it's fur behind.

(Y/n): Oh boy. *grabs radio* (L/n) to HQ. (L/n) to HQ. Over.

HQ: HQ to (L/n). We read you. Over.

(Y/n): We have an escaped lion. Check the power to the fence and check the lion's tracking implant.

HQ: Affirmative. Be aware, that lion is a danger to any people that might be out there in the bush.

Ranger Rogan: This is Ranger Rogan on the southern side of the park and we also have no electricity in the fence and an escaped baboon.

HQ: There must be a damaged powered relay plate from somewhere.

(Y/n): I'll take care of all three objectives. In the meantime, get maintainence to fix the fence and increase park security. I have a bad feeling about this.

HQ: Yes sir. Right away. Over and out.

(Y/n): *thought* Alright, three objectives. Find and capture a wild lion. Find and capture a wild baboon. And fix the electricals for the fence. Each objective is in a different direction, so which first. *out loud* Well, that's obvious.

I go back to the jeep and grab my backpack and rope and some emergency flare canisters in case I need an assist, I'm reluctant to carry a gun nowadays, but I can't help but take my desert eagle sidearm with me as well. With my gear, I hop over the fence and head North going after the escaped lion first.

Because of the rough terrain of the open savannah, I've ditched the truck for a horse, the original all-terrain transport for at least 6000 years. I ride north for 15 minutes before picking up a familiar, yet worrying smell on the wind. I stop the horse at the top of a hill and pull out my binoculars and scan the landscape.

(Y/n): *thoughts* Yup, there's a smoke stack. Looks like someone's camping there and it smells like they're cooking food. And that's like ringing a dinner bell for a lion. *out loud* I need to get over there.

I dismount and tie my horse to a nearby tree where it'll be safe, but away from the smell of cooking food. Then I approach the campsite and look again into the camp from a distance and see someone...

(Y/n): *thoughts* I had heard there were animal reasearchers in the area, that must be one of them. And nothing attracts a lion like meat over an open flame.

Now I have two options, I can, either, build a boma, which is where I get lots of dead branches and thorny bushes, and make a ring around that campsite. It's a natural defense against predators. Or I can just take that food he's cooking and take it a long way from camp.

Deciding to be proactive about catching this lion, and because there's an incoming storm near the relay power station, I approach the camp.

(Y/n): Hello to camp!

The man turns around and stands as he sees me approaching.

Researcher: Hello. Can I help you?

(Y/n): Sorry about this, but there's a lion on the loose, I need this.

Despite the man's protests, I take the meat from the fire and walk away from the camp.

Researcher: Oi! That's my dinner!

(Y/n): You'll thank me later!

Lion: *loud snarl*

I turn around and see the escaped lion and start waving and whistling.

(Y/n): Yo! Come and get it, Pussy cat!

The lion starts chasing me and I run for a bit until I round a around a large bush and wait for the lion to come after me again, then I toss the meat away to my right, then run to my left. The big cat goes after the meat I tossed and I get a ways away but still within visual range and catch my breath.

(Y/n): Never try that at home kids. You can never outrun a lion in an open field.

I look back and realize, the lion has gone into some dense foliage for cover while he eats and lose sight of him.

(Y/n): Great. Now what? *thoughts* It's mid-afternoon, and when night falls, I'll have no chance of finding that lion.

I start searching the savannah, but I'm now on foot, so I'm keeping my head on a swivel. Eventually, I see a vulture taking off as I approach something, that can only mean one thing.

(Y/n): *approaches* A dead springbok. *kneels down and inspects it* *thoughts* No injuries or bite marks, probably just died of dehydration. Not uncommon in this harsh and dry landscape.

I decide to take some of the meat off this carcass and, hopefully, see myself about a lion. I head out again and finally start to find signs of that lion. And sure enough, I crawl through some dense bushes and finally spot the lion in the distance. As I watch, I try to formulate a plan about how I'm going to contain the King of the Jungle.

(Y/n): *looks at bushes around myself* *thoughts* I wonder if I can make a natural corral out of these bushes and build a boma to keep the lion trapped here until rangers can pick him up. Only question is, how do I lure him back into the brush?

I watch as the lion finishes the leg of lamb and starts to settle down, I grab that bit of springbok meat I took earlier and look at it, then at the lion, then back at the meat and look at the camera.

(Y/n): Yeah, no. This handful of meat won't cut it. *sighs* Guess, I'm bait.

But before all that, I need to build the boma that's going to keep the lion secured until the ranger's arrive. I back off and look through the bushes I'm trekking through and actually find a decent spot to build my boma.

(Y/n): *thoughts* So, all I've gotta do, is lure the lion in here then weave back out through the entrance and drop these thorny branches down and trap the lion inside. *out loud* Yup, all set.

I head back and see the lion getting ready to settle in for a nap, so I need to get his attention.

(Y/n): Hey! *loud whistles* Want to chase something?! *pound on chest twice* Come and get some!

The lion really doesn't look interested, but maybe I'm just acting too aggressive, but maybe try to look injured. An injured or weak animal is always a trigger for a predator, that there's a potential meal.

(Y/n): *mimics an antelope distress whine*

The call I'm doing is meant to imitate an injured animal and I'm slightly draggaing my right leg to show that I'm limping. My alertness goes up when I see the lion rise to his feet and looks straight at me, and believe me, if you ever see into a big cats eyes, they look lioe they're staring straight into your soul. But nonetheless, the lion walks closer and then starts running when he gets close enough, I take off for around the bush and run for the boma, as soon as the lion follows me in, I dodge a couple of paw strikes, before going for a dive-roll behind the lion and out of the boma. I am quick to grab tye thorny branch and place it at the entrance, blocking the lion inside the corral.

Lion: *loud angry snarl*

(Y/n): Whoo, it's not easy outwitting the King of the Jungle. Phew. *grabs radio* Ranger Station, this is (Y/n). Come back Ranger station. Over.

HQ: This is Ranger station, (Y/n). We read you. Over.

(Y/n): Lion has been captured and awaiting pick up back to sancuary. I repeat, lion has been captured.

HQ: Alright, great work, (Y/n). We will send a transport team immediately. Over and out.

Alright, mission accomplished, now we still need go restore power to that hydro electrical relay station and rescue that baboon headed towards the sea cliffs. The rangers called and said that they think the electricity was cut on purpose, but for what purpose? Anyways, I decide to go restore power the the electric relay station. The station itself is located east of the sanctuary and in the heart of a dense jungle and there's no roads. So, I'm gonna need my machete to cut my way through.

*radio static*

HQ: Ranger station to (Y/n), do you copy.

(Y/n): *grabs radio* 10-4. Go for (Y/n).

HQ: (Y/n), when you reach the relay station, make sure to reset the terminal before restarting the power. The correct order is negative, positive, negative. Got it?

(Y/n): Negative, positive, negative. Good copy. Over and out. *puts away radio* *thoughts* Okay, Negative, positive, negative. N, P, N. No Panthers in Nigeria. *out loud* Got it.

I keep moving through the jungle, I can just barely see through the canopy, but I can see the storm getting closer, and if it's raining up river, that gorge will be flooding soon. I've got to hurry.

I reach the edge of the gorge and the water flowing through it is rising and moving faster than normal thanks to that storm. So I grab my rappelling helmet out of my pack and decide to use the water in the gorge as a water slide to get closer to the relay station faster, but because of the rising water levels this will be dangerous. So, I wait until the water rises a bit higher and then slide down on my back down the river.

(Y/n): Whoa! Ah! Ahhh!

The river finally spouts me out and into a small pond waiting at the end. I recover and swim to the edge of the water.

(Y/n): Remember, audience. Don't fight the power of nature, just go with the flow, but only if you have no other option.

Finally inside the gorge, I start walking down it towards the relay station, which is still several miles away. As I keep going though, I feel a slight tingling on my arm, I roll up my sleeve and see...

(Y/n): Oh, a leech. Leeches are interesting, what they do is they inject an anti coagulant into your skin and that stops your blood clotting. And that's why it bleeds so much.

I toss it in my mouth and force it down my throat for a little protein boost.

(Y/n): Gah! Not a great tasting meal, but worth it in a survival situation. Okay, let's go.

I continue down the gorge, I want to wash out the taste of that leech but the water around me just doesn't look clean, even if it were clear, doesn't mean you should drink it because you have no idea what's in it.

(Y/n): My grandpa used to say, always boil water before drinking it.

I start to ford another body of chest height water to keep following the gorge, until suddenly-

(Y/n): Ow!

I am pulled under water and can feel something coiling around my neck, I look around and reach out and manage to grab the head of the constrictor snake. I then quickly resurface and try to breath which was a mistake because the coils just wrapped around my neck tighter. I need to do something fast, so since I have the head in one hand, I resort to dunking the snake's head underwater. I do this multiple times until finally he loosens his grip and I take the chance to swim to shore and catch my breath.

(Y/n): *heavy breathing* Pythons can hold their breath for a long while,... but the... shock of being... thrust underwater forced him to... let me go. Phew. Snakes are a fear of mine, that was not fun. Let's go.

Between, lions, leeches and snakes, I'm taking a beating. The upside to this though, we are getting close to that relay station. And to prove my point...

(Y/n): *notices something out of place* What is.... *kneels down* Aha! This is an electrical cable, this must go to the relay station. So, *looks around* where do you go?

I follow the cable away from the gorge and finally find the relay station.

(Y/n): There you are. Found the relay station and the fuse box. *looks down* But look at this.

I pick up a bit of the cable and see wires have been severed and one thing is clear.

(Y/n): An animal did not chew on this, this was intentionally severed. A human did this on purpose.

So now I know poachers are behind this, so it's important to get the electricity back up and running so no more animals escape the safety of the sanctuary. But before I start messing with live wires, I just need to make sure the power is 100% off. I open the fuse box and make sure to power off the electricity completely. Once that's done, I start reconnecting the severed wires so the electricty can flow back through.

(Y/n): *thoughts* Okay, now I need to reset and restart the fuse box. I'll need that fuse sequence the rangers gave me. What was it? *thinks silently* *out loud* No Panthers in Nigeria. Got it.

I flip the fuses into their correct positions, then flip the master switch to the "on" position, and low and behold, the relay station powers back on.

(Y/n): Yes! *grabs radio* (Y/n) to Ranger station. Come back Ranger station. Over.

HQ: Ranger station here. Good copy.

(Y/n): Relay station is back online.

HQ: Outstanding work.

(Y/n): But I was right to be suspicious.

HQ: Poachers?

(Y/n): Maybe. I've seen this tactic before. Knockout power. Animals leave reserves and sanctuaries where the animals have no protection from law enforcment.

HQ: Alright, we're beefing up security and all fences are repaired.

(Y/n): Do a sweep and make nothing else got out. I've still gotta find that monkey.

HQ: Acknowledged. He was last seen heading towards the sea cliffs to the south.

(Y/n): Understood. Over and out.

Alright, south it is. But I don't intend to hike all the way. Instead a ranger's helicopter flies me towards the baboon's last known location. Still once I land it'll be a tough landscape to cross, powerful ocean currents, huge waves and great white sharks. The helicopter pilot tells me he can't land, so I tell I'm gonna fast rope down. So the helicopter hovers above the beach spot where the baboon was last seen, ai toss a rope down and I slide down it like a fireman's pole. I hit the ground and wave the helicopter away.

(Y/n): Alright, chopper gone. Now to get down to monkey buisness.

I walk along the beach to see if that baboon was here for whatever reason, along the way I find a num-num berry bush and snack on a few as well as some cutworm grubs to keep my energy levels up. I also stash a few in case I find the baboon and need to lure it into a trap before moving on. I walk a little further on until I find some worrying signs in the sand.

(Y/n): Oh boy. *kneels down and traces* Cheetah tracks. *thoughts* In the wild cheetahs will hunt baboons, so I've got to find this monkey fast.

I head further inland because that's where the baboon would've headed as well. I climb a steep hill for several minutes until-

Baboon: *alarmed screech*

(Y/n): That's not good.

I rush up the hill and see the cheetah has caught up to the baboon and the two are sizing each other up. I need to do something fast.

(A/N): Not an accurate representation, but you get my point.

(Y/n): *thoughts* Okay, lets use this stick and weave it though the sleeves of my jacket and make myself look bigger.

I do just that and charge at the two creatures.

Cheetah: *loud hiss*

(Y/n): GET OUT OF HERE! HA! HEY! HEY! HA! HA!

This seemed to do the trick and both animals run off in different directions.

(Y/n): Whew. Alright, immediate danger over. Now though I gotta follow that baboon's trail again and try to secure it before it gets hurt.

Thankfully, this time, I've got a trail to follow, only problem is, the trail heads back towards those sea cliffs. It is a good 30 minutes before I reach the bottom of the trail and it leads me to the shore where the storm from earlier is now coming in over that rainforest where the relay station was. Now, my problem is that baboons are such awesome climbers that I've heard of them sleeping on cliff faces to avoid predators creeping up on them in their sleep. I do not have the same climbing abilities, but still have to follow where that damn monkey went. I round the cliff and avoid slipping to reach a rocky beach and see something saddening.

(Y/n): Look at all this trash. Even in this beautiful, remote part of Africa you can still find people's plastic waste. It's important to use as little plastic in your life as possible cause it takes hundreds if not thousands of years to disintegrate, plus, a lot of it could poison the enviornment.

I make it down the beach a little further and start to look at the tops of the cliffs, and I end spotting the missing baboon sitting on a rocky pinnacle.

So, how do I reach him? Either climb up the sharp edged cliff with what little rope I have left with no gaurenteed way of attaching said rope, or try to swim across the bit of ocean in front of me, it's rough and dangerous, plus there could be great white sharks lurking around. I decide to actually use all those plastic jugs and some driftwood, then use my rope to lash it all together and use it as a makeshift raft.

(Y/n): You see wood doesn't actually float very well when it gets wet, so I'm just using it as a frame and the jugs and even a net I found as bouyancy. Just use some knots to tie it off. The phrase, "One man's trash is another man's treasure", is true in this case.

It's not the Starship: Enterprise but it should do the trick. I gently move the raft into the water and then hop on when it floats in it's own. Using a stick with some plastic as a paddle, I start to row across the seaway, but I've got to hurry, that last wave scared the baboon back into the brush. I try to stay in the open but the rough waves and the riptide are trying to pull my towards some rocks. I paddle a bit harder to steer clear of the rocks, but eventually, I make it across.

(Y/n): Whoo! Nice rafting. Would probably make the Kratt brother's proud. Now let's really rub it in and find that troublesome baboon.

I manage to walk up a hill that leads me to the top of the cliff.

(Y/n): Oh, check this out.

I have found some fallen fig fruits.

(Y/n): Baboons love figs. Let's take some as bait.

I grab a handful and keep walking until I round a corner, but quickly double back because the baboon was just right around the corner.

(Y/n): *thoughts* Perfect. He's scrounging around for food. Baboons are smart but greedy. I hate using this kind of trap, but if we use a slip knot trap with my remaining rope, he'll be restrained and I can secure him better and alert the Rangers.

So, I simply ready a slip knot with my rope, dig a shallow hole and place the figs and rope inside, then I back away while holding onto the rope and wait. Sure enough, the baboon approaches and starts eating the figs, I then spring the trap and catch the baboon's hands and the hogtie him before grabbing my radio.

(Y/n): Ranger station. Come back ranger station. Over.

HQ: Ranger station. We read you, (Y/n). Over.

(Y/n): The baboon is secured and ready for transport.

HQ: Great work. We'll scamble a transport team immediately.

(Y/n): Alright. Transmitting baboon coordinates.

HQ: Don't hang up your boots yet. We have a new problem.

(Y/n): What's the problem.

HQ: We did a sweep and it appears a herd of elephants has left the safety of the sanctuary. They were last seen headed further North than the lion.

(Y/n): Copy. I'll bring them all back safely. Over and out.

Ugh, awesome. Now I have to find an entire herd of at least 15 elephants all on my own. I'm gonna ask for a raise after this. Gripping over, I head north in a jeep, elephant's can travel up to 50 miles a day, so finding them could take a while. Fortunately, you don't need to be a master tracker to find elephants, because they leave a mess wherever they go.

(Y/n): Those elephants are probably being targeted by poachers, so I need to- Whoa!

I slam on the brakes and the jeep comes to a sudden stop, cause in front of me is huge adult bull elephant.

(Y/n): Don't move.

The elephant and I stare at each other, I look him over he can't be more than 35 years old and I see a scar on his face going down diagonally.

(Y/n): Wait a minute. Do I know you?

I slowly get out of the jeep as the elephant flared his ears and kept eye contact with me.

(Y/n): Easy. Easy.... H-H-Hannibal?

The elephant stood it's ground but then lifted his trunk and seemed to sniff my scent on the air, he then relaxed his ears against his body and lumbered towards me. He reached out with his trunk and sniffed me some more and seemed to grow more excited, and I grew relieved.

(Y/n): Oh. Hey bud. I haven't seen you in 10 years I think, and you still remember me.

Hannibal: *low rumble*

(Y/n): Huh? Where you been?

As happy as I am that I've found my old friend, I've got other elephants to find, so I free myself from Hannibal's trunk and actually find several piles of elephant poop and tracks to follow. I soon climb a fallen branch and pull out my binoculars and finally spot the herd.

(Y/n): Wow. You can never really lose your fascination or awe in the presence of the majestic giants of the savannah.

A bit further away, I see a large vehicle speeding down the dirt track.

(Y/n): Oh no. Poachers, just as I thought.

I've got to get to the elephants and defend them before the poachers find them and-

Lion: *growls*

I turn around and see the lion I had secured earlier has freed itself from boma.

(Y/n): Oh shi-

Lion: *loud snarl*

I run back toawrds the truck and roll under it to avoid being pounced on, then hop in the caged bed then squeeze through the rear window and wait for the lion to jump in behind me in the bed, but-

Hannibal: *loud trumpet*

Hannibal came from the front of the jeep at full charge speed but stopped suddenly, grabbed the lion with his trunk and conviently threw him into the bed of the jeep. I quickly run around and close the cage gate trapping the lion inside.

(Y/n): Bad pussy cat.

Lion: *loud snarl*

I make sure the gate us secured before petting Hannibal by reaching up and patting his face. Keep in mind, this elephant is only 7 years older than me and he's already 13 ft tall and probably weighs 10 tons, with tusks nearly 2 feet in diameter at the base.

(Y/n): Thanks bud. You saved me, but I've got an elephant family to save. I got to get going, see ya later.

I take off towards the canyon that the elephant herd crossed and have to move fast before the poacher find them and kill them for their ivory tusks. After several minutes, I finally reach the edge of the canyon walls, but I do find a ranger's line that would be used to transport equipment across the canyon.

(Y/n): Well, it's going to be physical, and one wrong move could spell disaster, but those elephants are in danger so I have to try.

I try to use the commando crawl to shimmy my way across the canyon, it's slow and precarious, but I'm making much better time than if I had gone down the canyon wall then up the other side. It takes several minutes of abuse to my muscles before I finally make it across the line and across the canyon.

(Y/n): Whew. That was hard work. Who needs a gym? Wow.

I climb out of the canyon and run fast towards where I last saw the elephant herd.

(Y/n): There they are.

I take a look around and actually see the suspected poacher's vehicle and it's moving in our direction.

(Y/n): *thoughts* It's not easy to hide a herd of elephants, *looks around* but, if I can get them down this hill towards the watering hole, maybe the hill and dense bushes will hide them. *out loud* Alright.... how?

I approach the elephants and raise my arms to let them know I'm here.

(Y/n): Alright, ladies. We've got bad people coming, so we gotta move.

The matriarch, the lead female, steps out in front of the herd and flares her ears to try and challenge me.

(Y/n): Easy big mother. I just want to help.

The matriarch then looks behind me, causing me to turn around and the poachers are already on top of us, I turn around to face and stand in the way of the vehicle and the elephants, I unclip my gun from it's holster as 4 suspected poachers hop out of the vehicle and pretend to walk like badasses.

Poacher 1: *sees my gun* You know, it's a $20,000 for poaching elephant. We'll be transporting these animals back to the sanctuary, for their own safety.

(Y/n): *elephant growls behind me* Not a chance.

Poacher 2: *chuckles*

Poacher 1: I see. You clearly don't recognize a badge when you see it.

The Poacher pulls out a badge and shows it off.

(Y/n): That's funny. *shows off badge on belt* You see, I typically know the new recruits, because I hire them personally.

The poachers lose their confidant expressions knowing they've been outted as liars.

(Y/n): Raw elephant ivory is, what, $92 per kilogram. Which makes these seven adult female elephants worth... shoot, upwards of $600,000.

The main poacher pulls out a shotgun and this causes the other poachers and myself to draw our guns.

Poacher 1: How do you wanna do this? You ain't worth nothing to me.

I know I can't take them all by myself, and when the shots go off the elephant's will panic. So, now what?

*distant angry elephant bellow*

I look behind the poachers and see Hannibal charging towards us and closing in fast, the elephants behind me seem to respond and turned around to run away. I saw one of the poachers aim their rifle at one of the elephants, I am quick to put two rounds in him. The others turn to me as I move behind a rock and fire at me but hit the rock instead. I wait for a second and take a chance to shoot and I manage to hit two more poachers, but the main poacher fires his shotgun and the shot hits my shoulder and I fall to the ground and drop my gun. The poacher appraoches me and kicks my gun out of my reach and aims his shotgun at my head.

Poacher 1: Guess you ain't such a big deal, huh?

Hannibal: *exerted grunt*

The poacher looks behind himself too late as Hannibal smacks him into his own vehicle, splintering his body on impact.

(Y/n): If you were thinking, you wouldn't have thought that. *groans in pain*

Hannibal starts poking his trunk at me and touches my shoulder wound.

(Y/n): Ow! Don't do that, please. *grabs radio* (Y/n) to Ranger station. Come in, Ranger station.

HQ: Ranger station to (Y/n). We read you. Over.

(Y/n): Elephant herd found. In need of transport and Med-Evac.

HQ: Oustanding. Who needs a Medic? Ovet.

(Y/n): Me.

HQ: Understood. Transport and Med-Evac is rolling out now. Hang tough, soldier. We'll handle the rest. Over and Out.

As I hang up, I sit up and check my wound, I rip off my shirt and wrap it around my shoulder as best I can. Hannibal then approaches and touches my shoulder again.

(Y/n): Ouch! What did I just say?

Hannibal then wraps his trunk around my waist and tosses me onto his back and shoulders. He then calls to the other elephants and the matriarch actually falls into line first and Hannibal leads us all back to the sanctuary.

(A/N): Alright, Cut! Great work everyone. Take a break.

Hey! All you really wild readers out there! Sorry for the delay. I've been working overtime for personal reasons. I'm fine, just a lot I have to be ready for. I'm also planning two brand new stories, but of course, I have to get some older ones off my plate, so back to the grind.

Hope you all have a wonderful day/night and I'll see y'all next time. PEACE OUT!!!