Lulu Bell and the Tiger Cub

by Belinda Murrell

  The children crowded around. Dr Bradley was painting antiseptic cream onto some stitches on the snake’s belly.

  ‘This is Tammy the carpet python,’ said the vet. ‘She was brought into the zoo with an unusual problem. Last week we operated to remove three golf balls from her belly. She thought they were chicken eggs and ate them.’

  The kids grinned. The snake slithered into a large coil.

  ‘Would you like to hold her, Lulu?’ asked Dr Bradley. ‘She’s not venomous.’

  Lulu gave a little skip of excitement. ‘Yes, please.’

  Dr Bradley showed her where to hold the snake. Lulu was used to helping her dad in the vet hospital. She knew how to hold the reptile calmly and quietly. Lulu was surprised by how heavy the snake was. The other children took turns to stroke the python’s slippery scales.

  ‘In another couple of weeks we can release her back into the wild,’ said Dr Bradley. ‘Hopefully she has learnt not to steal golf balls.’

  Rachael took Tammy and went to put her in the reptile ward.

  Just then the phone rang. The vet answered.

  ‘Hello? Dr Bradley speaking.’ She paused as she listened. A frown crossed her face. ‘Okay, I’ll be right there.’

  Lulu knew that look. It meant that an animal was injured. She wondered what could possibly have happened.

  ‘Is everything all right?’ asked Lulu.

  ‘It’s Berani, one of the tiger cubs,’ said Dr Bradley. ‘He’s had a fall.’

  Chapter 4

  Berani

  Dr Bradley turned to Mum. ‘I’m driving over to the tiger enclosure to check one of the cubs. I can take one passenger. Lulu can come with me if she’d like to.’

  ‘I’m sure she’d love to,’ Mum said. She turned to Lulu. ‘Wouldn’t you, honey bun?’

  Lulu nodded. ‘Yes, please.’

  ‘How about you walk over with the other children and meet us?’ Dr Bradley suggested to Lulu’s mum.

  Dr Bradley pulled on her jacket and gathered a medical bag full of equipment. She asked Lulu to take a large carry cage. Lulu followed Dr Bradley out through a side door into the garage. A small buggy was parked there. It had two seats in the front and a bench seat in the back where they put the baggage. Dr Bradley drove very slowly along the path.

  The other kids ran as fast as they could back to the Sumatran tiger enclosure.

  Dr Bradley parked the buggy around the back. There was a concrete building where the tigers slept. A zookeeper in a khaki uniform was waiting by a locked door. He looked worried.

  ‘Hi, Tom,’ called Dr Bradley. ‘What happened to Berani?’

  ‘I put his mother away in her sleep pen,’ said Tom, the zookeeper. ‘Then when I went in to clean the big enclosure, I found Berani limping. I think he fell when he was climbing one of the trees. He’s getting far too curious for his own good.’

  ‘I’ll take a look,’ said Dr Bradley. ‘We’ll probably need to take him back to the hospital for an X-ray. When did he last eat?’

  ‘His last solid food was last night,’ replied Tom. ‘Then he had some milk early this morning.’

  ‘Good, then he should be fine if he needs to have an anaesthetic.’

  Dr Bradley lifted the carry cage out of the back of the buggy. She passed it to Tom, then picked up her medical bag. She turned to Lulu.

  ‘I’m sorry, Lulu, but you can’t come inside the tiger enclosure,’ explained Dr Bradley. ‘Why don’t you pop around the front and watch through the glass? Then you can come back with us to the vet hospital afterwards.’

  ‘Sure,’ said Lulu. ‘Thanks, Dr Bradley.’

  Lulu raced around the front of the enclosure.

  Through the glass, she could see the biggest cub was standing on three legs. One of the hind legs was lifted in the air, with the foot dangling down. The tiger cub tried to limp. The other two cubs sniffed around curiously.

  In a minute, Mum arrived with the other students in the group. They were all huffing from their run. Now Lulu could see Dr Bradley and Tom the zookeeper walking through the long grass towards the tiger cubs. Tom talked softly to the animals.

  One of the female cubs trotted towards them. Tom smiled and ruffled her furry head. The tiger rubbed her face against Tom’s hand. She licked Tom on the fingers with her long, raspy tongue and made a loud chuffing noise. Tom chuffed back. It reminded Lulu of her family cats, Pickles and Pepper, purring.

  Dr Bradley knelt down in the grass beside Berani. Tom crouched beside her and scooped Berani up in his arms. Carefully and gently, Dr Bradley examined the tiger’s hind leg. Then Dr Bradley wrapped the cub in a towel and put him inside the carry cage.

  Tom picked up the cage. Dr Bradley waved to Lulu to meet them around the back. They set off towards the rear of the enclosure, followed by the two smaller cubs. Lulu ran around to meet them.

  Tom got into the buggy’s passenger seat and cradled the cage on his lap. Lulu could see two tufted ears flicking back and forth. Lulu squeezed in the back where the cage had been.

  Dr Bradley drove back to the vet hospital slowly and parked the buggy.

  A low rumble came from the carry cage on Tom’s lap.

  ‘It’s all right, Berani,’ soothed Tom. ‘Our clever vet will have you chasing around in no time.’

  ‘You bet,’ Dr Bradley said, smiling at Lulu. ‘Have you ever seen an operation on a tiger cub?’

  Lulu shot out of the back of the buggy. ‘Really? Can we really, truly watch?’

  Chapter 5

  The Operation

  At the vet hospital, Tom and Dr Bradley took Berani into the operating theatre. Lulu joined the other children and watched through the viewing window. Mum explained to them what was going on.

  ‘First they’ll give him an anaesthetic,’ said Mum. ‘Then they’ll take an X-ray of his hind leg.’

  Tom held Berani tightly while the cub was given an injection. In a few moments, Berani was fast asleep on the stainless steel operating table. He had a tube in his mouth to help him breathe. Once Berani was safely asleep, Dr Bradley and Tom came out to join the watching children.

  Inside the operating theatre, Rachael set up the X-ray machine. She worked the machine from a special booth.

  Dr Bradley turned on a computer on the bench. The children gathered around to watch.

  ‘Berani is nearly three months old,’ said Dr Bradley as she worked on the computer. ‘His name means brave and he is always getting into trouble. It doesn’t surprise me that he took a tumble.’

  ‘We saw him climbing a tree trunk this morning,’ said Lauren. ‘He jumped down then, but it didn’t look like he had hurt himself.’

  ‘We need to take very special care of Berani,’ said Tom. ‘He and his sisters were the first Sumatran tiger cubs born in our zoo. He is one of only about four hundred Sumatran tigers left in the world. They are critically endangered. This means we need to work very hard to save them from extinction.’

  Lulu felt a cold shiver run up her spine. ‘Extinction? You mean the Sumatran tigers might die out altogether?’

  She watched the tiger cub lying on the operating table. He looked small and helpless.

  ‘Not if we can help it,’ said Dr Bradley. Her voice sounded serious. ‘Zoos around the world are working together on a breeding program to save the Sumatran tiger.’

  ‘When Berani and his sisters are grown up, we will send them to live in different zoos in other countries,’ said Tom. ‘Then they can have cubs of their own.’

  Some black-and-white pictures came up on the computer screen. They were X-ray images of Berani’s leg bones. Dr Bradley enlarged one.

  ‘Look there, Lulu,’ she said. ‘What can you see?’

  ‘It looks like he has a broken bone,’ said Lulu. She pointed to an image of his fractured thighbone.

  ‘That’s right. We call that bone the femur,’ explained Dr Bradley. ‘To fix that we’ll need to do an operation with a metal plate and some screws.’

  The vet pointed to the X-ray. ‘I
’ll make a small cut here and then straighten the bone. We’ll use the metal plate to hold the bone in place while it heals.’

  Lulu nodded.

  ‘Now let’s get to work,’ said Dr Bradley. She went to get changed. Tom stayed behind and watched anxiously.

  Dr Bradley and Rachael put on sterile surgical gowns over their clothes. They scrubbed their hands and wore hats, masks and gloves.

  The children could see everything through the window. First, Rachael made sure Berani was getting plenty of oxygen through a tube. He was linked to a monitor that checked his heart rate. Dr Bradley shaved his leg and swabbed the skin with antiseptic. Rachael passed her the instruments she needed. Dr Bradley straightened the bone. She used screws to hold the metal plate in place.

  Finally the wound was stitched up.

  When the operation was complete, Berani was placed in a warm, well-padded box. He was still asleep.

  Dr Bradley pulled off her gloves, mask and hat. She smiled at the children through the window. ‘Would you like to come in and take a closer look?’

  ‘Yes, please,’ cried Lulu.

  Everyone filed into the theatre and gathered around the operating table.

  ‘Berani will wake up soon. Would you like to pat him?’ asked Dr Bradley. ‘You can stroke him along the top of his head. Just be very gentle.’

  Lulu ran her fingers over his orange-and-black striped body. His fur felt a bit coarser than the cats at home.

  Dr Bradley showed the children one of his paws. ‘Tigers have webbing between their toes to help them swim. They are great swimmers, which is unusual for big cats.’

  Berani had soft pads on the base of his paws and needle-sharp claws.

  ‘And look at this. Can you see his false eyes?’

  Lulu wasn’t sure what the vet meant. ‘What are false eyes?’

  Dr Bradley pointed. On the back of each rounded ear was a large circular white spot.

  ‘The spots look like eyes, which helps scare off predators from behind,’ explained the vet.

  ‘Tigers really do have eyes in the back of their heads,’ joked Lulu. ‘Just like Mum.’

  Dr Bradley chuckled. Berani’s tufted ears twitched.

  ‘He’s waking up,’ said Dr Bradley. ‘It’s time for Berani to go into the intensive care unit.’

  Lulu looked down at Berani, who was sleeping peacefully.

  What an amazing experience to watch an operation on a tiger cub, thought Lulu. How could our zoo adventure get any better than that?

  Chapter 6

  Missing Monkey

  Tom helped Rachael carry Berani to the intensive care ward. When Berani was safely tucked away, Tom left to go back to work. A few minutes later, Rachael poked her head around the door. She looked worried.

  ‘Has someone moved Linh, the leaf monkey?’ Rachael asked. ‘She’s not in her cage.’

  ‘No,’ said Dr Bradley with a frown. ‘When did you last see her?’

  Rachael thought for a moment. ‘I put her away just before you went to get Berani. When I went to check on her, the cage door was open and she was gone.’

  ‘She must be here somewhere,’ said Dr Bradley. ‘Why don’t we all have a really good look for her?’

  First they checked Linh’s cage again. The door was wide open. Inside were her water bowl and her orange ball. Other toys had been thrown out onto the floor.

  ‘I know I closed the door,’ said Rachael. She looked as though she might cry. ‘I’m always so careful with the cage doors.’

  ‘I know you are,’ said Dr Bradley. ‘Perhaps Linh is more cunning than we thought. Monkeys are very clever at opening locks and doors. She’s only a baby so we thought she’d be safe.’

  The kids split into teams: Molly and Lauren, Mum and Lulu, Daniel and Max. They searched high on top of the cages and low under benches. They looked in Harry’s enclosure and in the aviary. With pounding hearts they searched the reptile room. Linh was nowhere to be found.

  Rachael was very upset. ‘What if we can’t find her? I’ll never forgive myself.’

  Berani the cub was waking up now. He cried a mini roar when he discovered that he had a big bandage on his leg.

  ‘It’s all right, Berani,’ soothed Lulu as she passed. ‘Right now, we have more important things to worry about.’

  Max gave a shout from the locker room. Lulu and Molly rushed in. There was chaos.

  Someone – or something – had opened all the backpacks. Hats and scarves were strewn all over the floor. Paper had been torn into little pieces and sprinkled like snow. Lunch boxes and drink bottles had been overturned. Lulu’s lunch box was open. There were nibble marks on the grapes. The salad sandwich had been opened and the lunch paper was crumpled into a ball.

  ‘Oh my goodness,’ said Lulu. ‘I think I know who has been causing trouble here.’

  ‘Linh, the gentle spirit leaf monkey,’ said Molly. ‘Perhaps that wasn’t such a good name for her after all.’

  Everyone searched the locker room, but Linh was nowhere to be found. Molly and Max set to work to tidy the mess. Mum swept the floor, while Rachael fetched the mop.

  Lulu was thirsty. She decided to get some water from the staff room and search in there. The staff room had a long wooden table surrounded by chairs. There was a small kitchen with a sink, fridge, kettle and a microwave. A large window looked out over the zoo gardens.

  On the bench was a plate of smashed chocolate biscuit crumbs. Lulu found a glass and filled it with water from the tap.

  A funny noise sounded. It was a soft chittering up near the ceiling.

  Lulu wrinkled her forehead. What creature would make that noise? She listened carefully as she stood by the sink.

  The sound seemed to be coming from above the kitchen cupboards. Lulu began to investigate. She climbed onto a chair and then the bench. She stood upright on the bench and peered at the top of the cupboards.

  A dark shape was huddled at the far end. It had orange fur on its head and legs. The fur on its back was darker.

  ‘Linh,’ whispered Lulu. ‘Is that you?’

  The baby monkey turned towards Lulu, staring at her with big black eyes. She looked frightened.

  Lulu walked slowly along the kitchen bench, talking softly.

  ‘It’s all right, Linh,’ she whispered. ‘Time to come down now.’

  Lulu was halfway along when the leaf monkey charged straight towards her. She leaped for Lulu and landed on top of her head. The monkey gripped tightly. A long tail curled in Lulu’s face. Lulu thought she must look funny, as though she was wearing a furry monkey hat.

  ‘Hello, Linh,’ murmured Lulu. ‘There’s a good girl.’

  Lulu gently lifted the monkey off her head and cuddled her close to her chest. The monkey buried her head against Lulu, making soft squeaking noises. ‘Good girl,’ crooned Lulu. ‘It’s good to see you safe and sound. Let’s take you back. Everyone is so worried about you.’

  Dad always said that baby animals felt safer if they were wrapped up in something soft. Lulu found a pile of folded towels on a shelf. She carefully wrapped a towel around Linh and carried her out the door.

  In the corridor, Lulu saw Rachael. The woman was hurrying along looking pale and stressed.

  ‘Rachael?’ Lulu called softly. ‘Look who I found.’

  ‘Linh!’ cried Rachael. She flushed pink with happiness and relief. ‘Oh, thank you, Lulu. Wherever did you find her?’

  Lulu carried Linh back into the ward while she explained how she had found the baby monkey. She stroked Linh’s head. The monkey gazed about with big wide eyes. Linh lifted her tiny front paws and patted Lulu on the chin.

  ‘Oh, she is simply adorable,’ said Lulu. ‘I wish we could take her home.’

  Rachael opened the cage door. ‘She certainly is,’ she agreed. ‘But if you took her home, Linh wouldn’t learn how to be a proper monkey, would she? I hope next time you come to the zoo, Linh will be living with her mother and the rest of her group.’

  Lulu thought ab
out it. ‘Yes, I’d rather she was with her family.’

  Lulu gave Linh one last cuddle, then put her back in her cage.

  This time Rachael made sure that the cage was double-locked.

  Mum came in with Molly. Everyone gathered around the cage to look at the rescued runaway.

  ‘I’m so glad the leaf monkey is safe, honey bun,’ said Mum. ‘But we really have to go now. We are running late to meet all the other kids for a picnic in the park. They will be wondering what on earth has happened to us.’

  Chapter 7

  Picnic Feast

  Lulu hung back. She didn’t want to leave the hospital and all the fascinating patients there. Everyone went to say goodbye to Dr Bradley and Rachael.

  ‘Perhaps I could skip lunch and stay here?’ Lulu asked her mum. ‘I’m not at all hungry.’

  Mum laughed. ‘I don’t think so, Lulu. We have to go or we’ll miss the seal show after lunch.’

  Lulu looked disappointed. Dr Bradley smiled at her.

  ‘Don’t worry, Lulu,’ said the vet. ‘Perhaps you can come back to visit soon. Then you can see how Berani and Linh are getting on. And I’d love to see the rest of the Bell family too.’

  Lulu turned to her mum. ‘Oh, could we, please? Can we come back really soon?’

  ‘I’m sure we can, honey bun,’ said Mum. ‘We’ll bring Dad and Rosie and Gus along too.’

  Dr Bradley walked them to the door. Just as they were leaving, Lulu had a thought.

  ‘We haven’t finished the treasure hunt trivia,’ Lulu reminded everyone. ‘But perhaps Dr Bradley can help us with the last two questions?’

  Dr Bradley nodded. ‘I’ll try. What do you want to know?’

  ‘All right,’ said Lulu. ‘Which is the sleepiest animal in the zoo?’

  ‘Ah, that would be the koalas,’ said Dr Bradley. ‘They sleep for up to twenty-two hours each day.’