Conserve Or Not

Part 1: Men With A Mission

Steve and Peter were crocodile conservationists in Australia. They worked for the same animal conservation group. They have been a two man team for years and have kept each other company in the jungles and swamps of Australia.

Steve steadied his gun, “Hey Peter, do you think that crocodile out there is what we need for tagging?” “I don’t think so Steve, that crocodile looks too timid and not of the wandering type.”

“Just what are the orders of the bosses in HQ by the way?” Peter laughed, “The orders were to tag a crocodile that could make the news. They say it would be good for our fund raising campaigns.”

“And what does HQ want exactly?” “Steve, the HQ wants a big crocodile. Something that is out of the ordinary and would look good in the news.”

Steve sighed, “Sometimes I wonder what I am doing working for our organization. I mean, we seem to be more interested in raising funds than actually saving animals.” “Nonsense, We need funds to continue our work. We cannot save animals on an empty stomach you know.”

“You’re right Peter, we cannot live on good intentions alone. But still, wouldn’t it be nice to see our organization fund conservation efforts to animals that actually need conserving. I know of a species of wild boars for example that are critically endangered.”

“But Steve, the people who fund us wants us to conserve crocodiles instead. You do know that one of our major funders is an international fashion label specializing in crocodile hides and they pay good money.”

“That sponsor of ours is one big pile of shit. They sponsor us to make themselves look charitable and noble while keeping the best crocodile hides for themselves.” Peter laughed, “But this pile of shit pays our salaries. You can’t deny that.”

“Let’s change the subject Peter. I don’t want to be reminded how miserable my life is. Sometimes I wonder why I became a conservationist in the first place.” Peter sighed, “Everything that people do these days is just to earn money. Face it Steve, if before we do it to save animals, now we do it for the money.”

“Okay! Okay! Let’s just stop talking about our shitty life. It’s apparent that all the crocodiles here are just average. I heard that the swamp near here is home to much bigger and ferocious crocodiles.”

Peter smiled, “That’s the spirit Steve. We’ll go there and tag a big one so that we’ll make the news and probably get bonuses.” Steve shook his head and smiled, “Sometimes I wonder Peter if you’ve become corporate as well.”

Part 2: Father And Son

Steve and Peter arrived in the swamp. But they were not alone. In another boat nearby, there was a bearded man with a boy who looked like a young teenager. The two approached their boat.

The bearded man smiled, “Hello there! What are the two of you doing here? We don’t see much strangers around here.” Peter smiled back, “We’re conservationists. We came here to tag crocodiles, especially big ones.”

The bearded man scratched his head, “The name is Will and this boy right here is my son. We know of a couple of big crocodiles around here. But we don’t tag them, we just shoot them and sell them.”

Peter showed his ID, “As you can see, we’re conservationist. We track crocodiles to know how they live, where they hunt, what they eat and so on.” Will sighed, “I don’t think you need to tag the crocodiles out here. They kill and eat people.”

“If we tag a crocodile and it makes the news, Will. You can become popular.” Will sighed, “I don’t need to be popular. I’m happy enough to hunt and kill these crocodiles and sell them for a bit of money.”

Will then started his boat, “Ok strangers, You do what you want and I’ll do mine. Just don’t get in our way when we hunt the crocodiles.” Peter smiled, “Will do. We won’t disturb your hunt.”

Part 3: The Big One

Peter and Steve drove their boat to a more remote part of the swamp. They were hoping that perhaps the older crocodiles would be hiding in the much murkier and darker part of the swamp.

Steve pointed his finger at a distance, “Is that Will and his son? Looks like they have found a crocodile.” “Bring the boat closer to them. Perhaps they have found interesting crocodiles.”

When they approached the boat of Will and his son, they were amazed by what Will and his son were looking at. It was a white skinned crocodile. It was very big. More than twice the size of their small boat. It was lying near a dry part of the swamp.

The white crocodile was not moving. It looks like it was asleep. Steve and Peter wondered why Will and his son were not shooting the white crocodile. For sure, it would be an excellent catch for them. They are sure to make the news even. Just imagine, catching a white crocodile two times the size of a small boat.

“What is that thing, Will?” Asked Peter. Will looked irritated, “That thing is what the natives call as ‘the great spirit’. As you can see it is white and big. This is why the natives don’t want it hunted down. ”

Peter smiled at Steve, “Don’t you think we’ll be in the news once we tell the world about that thing?” Steve frowned, “I don’t think we should Steve. We might offend the natives out here.”

Part 4: The Rage

Peter smiled, “But just imagine it. No one has seen a crocodile just like that. The press would go wild. We’ll be in the news.” Will put his finger in his lips, “Shh! Don’t be so noisy we might wake it up.”

But the white crocodile has been awakened. It looked at them while it walked towards the water of the swamp. Peter made an instant decision, “We can’t lose it. I can’t afford to lose such a prize!”

Then he pointed his rifle which fired a tracking device. He pulled the trigger but Will tapped the rifle to prevent it from hitting the white crocodile. Will was angry, “You idiot. Don’t make that thing angry!”

But it was too late. The tracking device has firmly implanted itself in the head of the white crocodile. It was between the white crocodile’s two eyes. The white crocodile jerked violently. It wanted to remove the tracking device which was embedded in it. It then dived below the waters of the swamp.

Then it attacked them. It rocked both of their boats. The son of Will fell into the waters of the swamp, but he was able to surface in the water. But before he can climb the boat, something dragged him under the water. Then the waters turned red with blood. Then the water became still again.

Part 5: Blame Game

Will wept. He wanted to jump in the water to look for his son. But he was sure that the white crocodile would be waiting for him to devour him as well. Peter and Steve held him back as he was nearly hysterical.

“It’s all your fault! You conservationist, if you hadn’t shot the white crocodile it wouldn’t have become angry. You should be the one being eaten by the crocodile right now instead of my son. I’ll get you!”

Will was about to shoot Peter when he saw something floating in the water. A part of the arm of his son was floating in the water. Will shouted in anguish. He immediately sped his boat to where the arm was and tried to get it.

Steve was tracking the white crocodile with their tracking monitor. He knows that the white crocodile is nearby. Then his eyes widened. He shouted: “No, Will don’t get it!” But it was already too late.

As Will grabbed the arm of his son from the water, the white crocodile suddenly jumped out of the water and with its wide mouth dragged him below the murky waters of the swamp. Peter and Steve saw everything that happened and bowed their heads.

Steve was angry, “It’s all your fault! Now two people are dead because of you. And why? Just because you wanted your picture to be shown in the magazines. You should be the one dead now and not them.”

Part 6: Decision, Decision

Peter sighed, “I know I’m wrong. But that’s not what is important right now. The important thing right now is to capture that crocodile. We should…” Steve was angry, “Can you hear the words you are saying? You still want this crocodile captured when it’s clear it’s a killer?”

“But we’re conservationist. We don’t kill animals for doing what is natural for them to do. The white crocodile is not a killer. We merely made it angry.” “You Peter are not a conservationist, you want to capture that crocodile for money and fame and nothing else!”

Just then, the white crocodile surfaced in the water. It seems to be looking at them from a distance. Steve took his rifle and aimed it at the white crocodile. He shouted, “Die you monster, die!”

Peter stopped him, “Steve, don’t shoot the crocodile. You are not thinking straight. Give me the gun!” The two struggled for possession of the rifle. But in their fight, they have forgotten that the white crocodile was actually slowly coming towards their boat. Steve was near the edge of the boat when the white crocodile attacked.

It lunged at their boat and with its wide mouth, it grabbed Steve and dragged him below the surface of the water. The water turned red again and stirred, but after a while it became still. Peter scarily kept himself in the middle of the boat.

Part 7: Natives

Then he saw some people in a boat approaching. They seemed to be the natives in the area. He waved his hand at them and they approached him. But as they approached the white crocodile began violently rocking his small boat.

The boat nearly flipped over and he was violently thrown from side to side. Then the white crocodile jumped into the boat and with its wide mouth grabbed him by his stomach. Peter cried in pain as the sharp teeth of the crocodile broke his back.

It was about to drag him beneath the water when it released its grip on him. It was the natives who saved him. They jumped into his boat and removed the tracking device from the head of the white crocodile.

All of a sudden, the white crocodile became peaceful again even with the presence of people around it. Gradually it sank beneath the waters of the swamp and never bothered anyone again.

Part 8: Famous?

Peter is in a hospital now. He was now paralyzed because of the spinal injury the white crocodile gave him. He can’t move any part of his body. The doctors say it’s permanent. He would be confined in a hospital bed forever. There would be days when he would cry all day pitying himself.

Then one day, there was a news in the television that caught his attention. His organization was getting all the credit for the discovery of his white crocodile. He can see the fashion house that sponsored them also in the limelight for the discovery of the white crocodile.

He cried out of anger but there was no one to wipe his tears. He shouted at the nurse for her to attend to him but there was no reply. He even cried more loudly when the picture of the white crocodile was flashed in the screen of the television.