The Wildlife Games (3 page)

AFTER THE SHOW ENDED WITH
loud applause, Tara reappeared in the Crocoseum, chewing some gum, rearranging her cap and sending a text message, all at the same time. She rounded up the contestants. ‘Okay guys, once the auditorium has cleared, Bindi will come over
and say hi and let you know the order of events for the day.'

‘Finally,' said Jason.

Tara threw him a sharp look.

‘I mean finally I'll get a chance to meet Bindi Irwin, my hero,' he quickly added, bending over to do a few hamstring stretches.

Mimi spoke for the first time that day. ‘So . . . so we'll really get to talk to her? I mean, Bindi?' The other contestants were surprised to see Mimi looking less than serene.

Tara was oblivious to Mimi's changed state. ‘Sure. She watched your audition tapes, and has read up on your backgrounds. She's been really looking forward to meeting you all.'

Mimi looked like she was considering fainting. ‘Oh.' She took a deep breath and stared up at the sky.

Anastasia started smoothing the imagined wrinkles on her outfit. ‘I know Bindi has her own fashion line. I want to talk about where she sourced her fabrics from.'

Tara looked up from her BlackBerry, bemused. ‘Ah, Anastasia, I don't think you'll have time to discuss fashion.'

Ana thought differently but wasn't going to waste her breath correcting Tara. As soon as she'd found out she was to compete in the Wildlife Games, Ana and her mother had gone into overdrive. There was a lengthy list of things she needed to achieve today – obviously winning the Wildlife Games was top of that list, but slightly further down was to do some research on how to start a self-branded fashion line. And she knew Bindi was the perfect person to talk to.

A moment later, Bindi bounded up the auditorium's stairs to join the contestants.

‘G'day, I'm Bindi!' she said enthusiastically, shaking hands with each of them. When she got to Anastasia, she joked, ‘Don't worry, I washed my hands after feeding the dead rat to the croc.'

Ana couldn't help herself. She pulled away from the handshake and wiped her hand on her culottes, just in case.
Ewww
,
rat germs
.

Bindi laughed. ‘You're Ana. I still remember you doing that cartwheel round-off routine on your audition tape. You're a great gymnast!'

Ana nodded. ‘Yes, I am.'

Declan and Mimi both giggled. Ana certainly didn't lack confidence.

Jason piped up. ‘Well, I'm not sure if being
good at somersaulting is going to help you win the Wildlife Games!'

He grinned at Bindi.

Bindi raised an eyebrow. ‘Ah, and you're Jason. Your dad's the sports teacher and –'

‘I play rugby, basketball, soccer, AFL, volleyball . . .'

Under her breath Ana said snarkily, ‘I don't think kicking a ball is going to help you win the Wildlife Games either.'

Bindi continued. ‘And you said in your audition interview that your favourite reptile was the perentie.'

‘Oh, right. Yeah, I love them. When my dad and I last went camping around Uluru, our ute broke down and we had to walk 15 kilometres to the nearest –'

Tara tapped him on the shoulder. ‘There's not time for a story now, champ, okay?'

Jason looked like he might disagree but kept quiet.

Bindi turned to Mimi. ‘And it's really nice to meet you too, Mimi.'

Mimi blushed, not trusting herself to say anything in case all that came out was a squeak.

‘I loved your speech on the diversity of rainforest species. It was fascinating.'

Mimi blushed more. ‘Well, I've always lived close to the Daintree Rainforest in Far North Queensland. It's the most incredible place to just, you know, be yourself.'

Bindi nodded. ‘I know what you mean. That's exactly how I feel about Australia Zoo.' She turned to the final contestant. ‘And you're Declan.'

Declan smiled and shook hands confidently. ‘Hi Bindi, I loved the croc show. You looked so at ease out there.'

Bindi smiled. ‘Well, I still have to remind myself to breathe when I'm feeding the crocs. It's not really something you can relax and get too comfortable with.'

Declan nodded. ‘Yes, this is the first time I've seen Mossman being fed. I've seen Aggro, Mungo, Bluey and Wally, and they all have slightly different approaches, don't they?'

Bindi was surprised. ‘So you've been here a few times already, then?'

‘Well, more than a few times. This will be my 23rd visit.'

The other contestants turned and looked at him. ‘Seriously?' said Ana.

‘Seriously,' replied Declan.

‘Well, maybe it should be you who gives the intro to the zoo,' said Bindi jokingly.

‘I could if you wanted me too,' said Declan.

Tara intervened. ‘That will not be necessary. Okay, guys, it's coming up to 10 am.' She passed out maps of the zoo. ‘Go and grab yourselves a drink and then we'll meet up at the entrance to the wetlands area, where we'll walk through your introduction to the show.'

Mimi, Jason and Declan headed off to grab a drink.

Bindi took out her script and scanned it. ‘I think I pretty much know what I'm going to say.' She had prepared a few opening phrases just in case she got nervous.

Tara smiled. ‘Hey, I'm not worried about
you
, Bindi. You're the professional.'

The coordinator saw Anastasia zeroing in on them and muttered quietly to Bindi, ‘It's these other guys who'll cause my hair to turn grey and fall out before I'm 30!'

Right on cue, Anastasia began questioning Tara. ‘So where's the film crew?'

Tara answered impatiently. ‘At the wetlands area.'

Anastasia frowned. ‘I thought they would have been here for when Bindi met us for the first time.'

Tara looked around at the empty auditorium. ‘No, they're not here. They're busy setting up their equipment at
the wetlands
.'

‘What about the hair and make-up artists?' Ana asked.

Tara sighed. ‘I'm sure I mentioned this at the initial briefing but there is no hair and make-up for the contestants.'

Ana frowned. ‘You did, but I thought you were making a bad joke.'

Tara looked pointedly at her watch. ‘You have three minutes. Scram!'

Ana reluctantly took off.

Tara turned to Bindi with a sardonic expression. ‘Let the games begin!'

After the croc show, Robert and his mum headed up to the African Savannah to see how the new exhibit was being received by the crowds. The sun had come out, and with the sounds of African drumming in the background, visitors could be mistaken for thinking they were actually in the Serengeti. The animals were on their best behaviour and everyone was enjoying seeing the
African animals interact with each other on the wide open plains.

The giraffes were serenely wandering through the grassy area, staring down imperiously at one of the zebras now and then if they got too close. The zebra would respond with a skittish side-step and move over to another area to graze with his mates.

The rhinos were enjoying each other's company, occasionally facing off good-naturedly with a little bit of horn nudging.

But the crowds were definitely focused on the youngest of the rhinos, Savannah, who was busy chasing a couple of the zebras like an eager puppy. Her mum, Cabelle, kept an eye on her youngster from a distance, making sure she didn't run into any trouble.

Terri glanced at her watch. ‘I wonder if the Wildlife Games have kicked off yet?'

Robert checked out his present from a recent birthday, the brand new dinosaur watch on his left wrist. ‘Soon, I'm guessing. Just after the big hand passes the Jurassic period.'

OVER BY THE WETLANDS, BINDI
was not getting bothered by roaming dinosaurs from the Jurassic period, but every time she was ready to start her introductory piece to camera for the beginning of the show, there was a distraction. First it was aircraft noise that completely drowned out Bindi's voice.

Next, a nearby brush-turkey decided to kick up a small storm of foliage right next to her foot, causing her to lose her flow a few words into the script.

‘Sorry, guys, let me try that again.' Although this was very different to feeding the crocs, Bindi felt the same sort of adrenaline rush as she faced the camera. Taking a deep breath, she began again.

‘Hello team, and welcome to the Wildlife Games. My name's Bindi Irwin, and on today's show you'll be seeing four awesome contestants battle it out with some of the most ferocious –'

‘
Squawk!'

‘Cut!' The director, Stan, gave the order. ‘Who squawked?'

A brolga walked into shot, looking unapologetic.

Bindi giggled. ‘I think it was Archie there. He's a bit of a performer.'

Stan cast a professional eye over the brolga. ‘Okay, he's in. Bindi, if you could move over to your feathered friend, we'll run again.'

Bindi walked over to the brolga and whispered, ‘Nice work, Archie. You didn't even have to audition.'

‘And action!' the director yelled.

The clapper loader brought the clapperboard down with a snap, causing Archie to let out another loud squawk in protest. The cameras kept rolling, and Bindi began again.

‘Hello team, and welcome to the Wildlife Games. I'm –
Squawk! –
Bindi Irwin, and this is my mate Archie the brolga –
Squawk! –
And on today's show you'll be seeing . . .'

Stan turned to Ginny, his camerawoman, as Bindi continued. ‘She seems much more relaxed now there's an animal in shot, doesn't she?'

Ginny nodded. ‘She's an Irwin. What do you expect?'

The director nodded. ‘Of course.'

Bindi continued, ‘And now, let me introduce you to today's contestants. They've been chosen from over 200 candidates between the ages of ten and fourteen. These kids love wildlife, love adventure, and are here today to compete against each other to become the winner of the first Wildlife Games. They have already conducted major fundraising, as today's winner will give the proceeds from their efforts to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, and the Aurora Network will also match the funds, giving hundreds of
gorgeous native Australian snakes, lizards, birds and marsupials a second chance at life.

‘First up, from Melbourne, Australia, we have Anastasia Hunter, aged 13, a state and national finalist in the under-14 gymnastics championships, with a passion for cats of all sizes and shapes. Since she was eight years old, Anastasia has organised fashion shows and gymnastics concerts to fundraise for Sumatran tigers, and has visited Sumatra with her parents twice to personally deliver the funds raised.'

The camera panned to Anastasia, who smiled at the camera, curtsied, then took a small run-up and launched into a gymnastic routine, flipping, rolling and ending with a triple cartwheel. The crew and surrounding zoo visitors broke into a round of applause. You didn't expect to see this kind of display at a zoo!

Archie the brolga was not as impressed. He was the star attraction, not this upstart girl. He wandered over and gave her a peck as she stayed stock-still in her landing pose, smiling at the camera. He pecked her again.

‘Owww,' said Anastasia, still with her performance smile plastered over her face. ‘Would someone get this annoying bird away from me?' she whispered through gritted teeth.

‘And cut,' said the director.

The camerawoman was about to stop filming when she saw Anastasia break her pose and turn to Archie the brolga. She decided to continue filming for a few moments longer.

‘Now, look here,' said Anastasia to the brolga. ‘You're very sweet and I can sense you have the same need for attention as I do, and I respect that,
but you better stay out of my way or there'll be trouble.'

Archie stretched out his wings, turned his back on Anastasia, deposited a delicate bird poo at her feet and stalked off.

Ginny stopped the tape with a chuckle. The out-takes for this production would be golden.

Jason and Mimi shared a grin. ‘Good to see Anastasia's making friends with the wildlife,' said Jason.

‘You'll be able to edit out the bit with the brolga pecking me, won't you?' Anastasia asked the director.

He nodded distractedly. ‘Yes, sure. Right, on to contestant number two. Back on Bindi, and . . . action!'

The camerawoman turned the camera to Bindi.

‘And please welcome contestant two, Declan Hodges, all the way from the beautiful isle of Tasmania. He is 12 years old, enjoys trekking through Cradle Mountain National Park, is a keen surfer and paddle boarder, and loves tortoises, turtles and other marine creatures.'

The camera zoomed in on Declan, who was standing in the Aldabran tortoise enclosure, smiling confidently. ‘Did you know the Aldabran tortoise is the largest species of land tortoise in the world? They can grow to roughly one metre tall and can weigh as much as 300 kilograms. My mum's a herpetologist, and I want to follow in her footsteps. Although there aren't any native turtles in Tassie, we're lucky to sometimes get a visit from a Luth or Leatherback turtle.

‘Rubbish is a major concern for these ancient
reptiles. They can swallow a plastic bag thinking it's a jellyfish, only to later die when they can't maintain their buoyancy or swim deep to find food. I organise a monthly “clean up the beaches” afternoon with kids from my high school and, with a sausage sizzle, we not only make Australia a cleaner, safer place for wildlife, we raise funds for turtle research. Win-win!'

The camera cut back to Bindi. ‘Wow, thanks, Declan. You're obviously doing great work down on the Apple Isle.'

Bindi turned back to face the camera. ‘Time to introduce contestant number three. Mimi Brookes is a 12-year-old from Port Douglas, in Far North Queensland, who has grown up near the Daintree Rainforest, and just loves the bush. Her French parents own an eco-resort and Mimi and her two
brothers are very interested in sustainability. Mimi has been taking visitors for guided tours since she was 10.' Bindi looked down at her notes. ‘Oh, and she's also fluent in Japanese and French as well as English.'

The camera turned to Mimi, who blushed and waved awkwardly to the camera, tongue-tied. A moment later a red-tailed black cockatoo landed on her shoulder and her awkwardness dissolved. ‘Ah, this is one of my favourite cockatoos. He's a red-tailed black cockatoo, and is native to many coastal, drier regions around Australia. The species is usually found in
eucalyptus
woodlands, and around my area, they can be seen in relatively large flocks.' Mimi stroked the cockatoo's wing feathers, and the cockatoo looked lovingly back at her.

Bindi walked into frame, smiling at them both. ‘I'm guessing Mimi could probably say that again in Japanese and French too! Yes, her area of interest is birdlife, and having grown up near the Daintree, she's been spoilt by the beautiful diversity that exists in that region of Australia.'

The camera then panned back to the entrance of the wetlands once more, where contestant number four should have been waiting. Bindi's voice could be heard off camera. ‘And contestant number four is . . .'

The director interrupted. ‘Cut. Sorry Bindi, where is he?'

Jason, the contestant who had been most eager to begin filming, had disappeared. This was bad news. Bindi was concerned. Where had he gone?

The film crew seemed less worried, and took the disappearance as an invitation to rest. It was a hot humid day, and when an opportunity for a break appeared, they'd take it. They put down the equipment and went looking for a drink. The director turned to Tara with an annoyed expression.

‘He was there a moment ago, I swear,' said Tara defensively. She started angrily punching numbers into her phone, mumbling to herself.

Now the filming had begun, Bindi wanted it to continue! She thought back to what she knew about Jason, and nodded to herself. She was going to take the proactive approach, and she knew where she was going to start looking.