"Look, mom!" Said the boy. "I caught a parakeet! Are they invasive species in Florida?"
"I don't know, sweetie." She said. "But if it is, we need to bring it to the animal control. When we get home, please put that bird in a cage where it belongs. Remember what I said."
"Nets can only be used for catching bugs, fish, and amphibians." The boy said with an annoyed tone. Suddenly, a great blue heron flew in front of the mother and child and gave a loud screech, scaring the humans away. However, Mortimer was scared, too, even after the heron took off the net. Thankfully, smaller birds like seagulls, sand pipers, and ibises started landing to comfort the parakeet.
"Caw, caw?" Said a seagull, which translates to 'What are you doing in Florida?'
"Chirp, chirp, chirp." Said Mortimer, translating to 'I'm all the way from Maryland, and I need to reunite with my owner Kelsey in Guyana. Do any of you know where Guyana is?' An ibis then held up a wing.
"Honk!" He said, translating to 'I do! I'll get you as far as Cuba, and you'll be guided by a trogon, and the trogon will guide you to Venezuela.'
'Chirp chirp?' Translating to 'What happens after I arrive in Venezuela?'
"Honk." Said the ibis, translating to 'You will be guided by a toucanet, which looks like a cross between a parakeet and a toucan, who will help you fly safely to Guyana!'
'Chirp!' Said Mortimer, translating to 'Deal! Let's start flying immediately.' The ibis then started flying south to Cuba, and Mortimer followed.
'Chirp chirp chirp, chirp chirp?' Asked Mortimer, translating to 'Out of curiosity, what is a trogon?'
'Honk honk.' Replied the ibis, translating to 'They're a kind of bird that live throughout the jungles of the world. The one we'll meet is blue and red with a white stomach and red eyes.'
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Back in Montana, Craig got out of the hotel and grabbed the next bus to the American Prairie Reserve.
"American Prairie Reserve, please!" He said to the bus driver.
"Okay." Said the bus driver. "Though you'll have to wait four hours until we get there."
"FOUR HOURS?!"
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After what seemed like forever, Craig had finally arrived at the American Prairie Reserve in Montana. He got out of the bus and ran towards a man who looked like a farmer.
"Did you receive a package in the mail this morning?" Craig asked.
"Why, yes, we did." Said the prairie man with a Southern drawl. "One had a live badger in it, while the other had five prairie dogs, all of which came from the Maryland Zoo. Would you like to see our prairie?"
"Sure!" Said Craig. He followed the prairie man to a huge beautiful grass field where the deer and the pronghorn play. "Wow! It's like Africa but with no lions!"
"Indeed, though we do have mountain lions." Said the prairie man. "While many people think of America as an industrialist country, I still believe that there are some small spots for animals that are just as amazing as say kangaroos, elephants, monkeys, and pandas. And by the way, my name is Buddy."
"Yes, indeed." Said Craig in awe. "How are the prairie dogs doing?"
"They're as healthy as horses!" Said Buddy, pulling out a pair of binoculars. "Use these binoculars to view them from afar. They get frightened if you were to approach them in person." Craig heeded the man's advice and used the binoculars to try finding the prairie dogs. After a few minutes, Craig spotted prairie dogs popping out of holes.
"Are they the ones popping out of the holes?" Asked Craig.
"Why, yes." Said Buddy. "Some prairie dogs patrol outside their burrows to see if the coast is clear. Even though their cousins the squirrel and the groundhog hibernate during the winter, groundhogs don't hibernate during the winter, as they still forage for food during the cold season. Would you like to see the badger next?"
"Sure." Answered Craig, and the both of them walked over to the headquarters building to check on the badger. When they got to the building, they saw two workers, one male and one female, training the badger to hunt a mouse. One worker had a badger puppet to use as a 'mentor', while the other worker made sure the mouse didn't escape.
"Do I have to see this?" Craig asked.
"No, you don't, young fella." Said Buddy, and they exited the building. "Where are you from, kid?"
"It's Craig." Said Craig. "Craig Williams. I am from Herkleston, Maryland."
"Maryland, huh?" Asked Buddy. "Do you have some connection with those animals?"
"Yes, I do." Admitted Craig. "My friends and I freed some animals from the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Some of us went to various countries to make sure the predators don't end up eating other animals. So far, one is successful."
"That's a noble thing you did." Said Buddy. "Animals deserve to roam free, not to be imprisoned in some cage." He then grabbed something from his pocket. "Here. These are tickets to the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, as well as some lunch money. There's a Ramen Tacos restaurant on the east side of Malta."
"Thank you." Said Craig, returning the money to Buddy. "But I have some gemstones in my treasure sack. But thanks for the tickets."
"The pleasure's all mine." Said Buddy. "By the way, what's your email?"
"cwilliams@googsmail.com." Replied Craig. Why do you ask?"
"I will let you know if the badger survives in the wild or not." Replied Buddy. "Happy trails!"
"Bye!" Said Craig. He then walked off and typed the name of the restaurant to research where he could have lunch.
Author's Notes: Invasive animals are animals that were released in the wrong habitat. This has caused environmental and economic issues. Florida, unfortunately, has a poor reputation for having lots of invasive species, including cane toads, Burmese pythons, Argentine black-and-white tegus, and even some monkeys. There are also three non-endemic parakeets in Florida. Thankfully, Mortimer is none of those species.
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| Monk parakeets in St. Petersburg, Florida. |
https://www.islandconservation.org/stop-spread-invasive-species/
Googs, which is Craig's email in this chapter, is a spoof of Google in We Bare Bears.
Googs will appear again in Chapter 15.
Ramen Taco is also from We Bare Bears. It was the name of a brand of taco in the episode 'Food Truck', though the bears thought it tasted horrible.
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| Grizz giving the Ramen Taco a bad review. |
Bud Luckey got his start in the animation industry on Sesame Street in the early 70s, in which he created beloved cartoon segments like 'The Alligator King', 'Ladybug's Picnic', and 'Martian Beauty'.
In 1990, he joined Pixar and created early character designs of Woody for Toy Story. He's even the one who suggested that Woody should be a cowboy. In earlier drafts of Toy Story, he was a ventriloquist dummy.
Luckey's other work at Pixar included A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, and Cars. He also
Luckey retired from the animation industry in 2008, but did voice acting until 2014. His voice credits include Rick Dicker in The Incredibles (he didn't return for the second one), Chuckles the Clown in Toy Story 3, and Eeyore in 2011's Winnie the Pooh.
On February 24th, 2018, Bud Luckey passed away at the age of 83. Incredibles 2 would be dedicated to him, even though he wasn't involved with the film.
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