LISTEN AND READ ALONG!
Q – Boris, we were told you had a really hard life. You lived in a dust pit with bunches of others like you? How did you get free?
A – This may be hard to believe. We piled on top of each other until a few of us were able to climb out of the pit. We searched and found different long pieces of rope. We tied these around us, lowered ourselves back into the pit a little at a time and let the others wrap themselves around us as they wiggled their way to the top and would squirm out. We made it to the very bottom of the pit and were able to pull ourselves out, one by one, every last one of us. We were being farmed for sale. Why anyone would want to buy us, is beyond us. We just know that we are glad to be back free in the jungle; slithering wherever we choose. Whew!
Q – Clayton, what happened that caused you to be tied to a tree? How in the world did you get loose to safety?
A – Someone thought they were being funny and skilled and took a bungee and slung it at me while I was swinging from tree to tree. It caught me and whirled me toward one of the trees. The centrifugal force wrapped me tightly around the tree. I could’ve been cut in half. Who could be so crazy to pull such a stunt? I am so grateful I thought fast enough to raise my arms and hands and was able to stretch the bungee enough to climb out of it. It was not easy…it was tight. I feel relieved being able to tell you this story.
Q – Rosco, what in the world happened to you? You are a big guy. You have a horn that could cause some real damage. How did someone or something get the best of you?
A – I was in the field like always, just relaxing. Up from behind, a huge net was thrown over me and I couldn’t loosen myself or get out from under it. I don’t know why someone would do this. I just know that I had to free myself and had no inkling as to what danger I could be in. I quickly fell to the ground, rolled my big body over and managed to free myself from the net. I saw a rifle pointed at my face and before anything else could happen, I swung my horn in that direction. The rifle flew through the air and I managed to high tail it out of there and get lost in the brush. I have no idea what happened with the evil minded spirit who attempted to end my life. I just know that I am here to tell this and am at loss for words in expressing the appreciation that I feel. I have my life and that is all that matters.
Q – Foster, who’s buggin’ you and why?
A- We are trapped and carried off in bunches by hunters who take us to schools and science labs. They dissect us and probably some of us get slit while we can still feel the blade. Now just what are you gonna find in a frog’s body that tells you anything about a human? What kind o’ thinkin’ is that? NOT!
Q – Alfred, how were you able to overcome your danger?
A – A couple of times a year, the apparel industry sends poachers to get as many reptile skins as they can for shoes, purses, wallets, belts, luggage, watchbands, and other items. People are not connecting that we’re being killed to make these things and that’s if we are the lucky ones. Many get skinned alive. People could consider other options if they knew they could have them harm-free from plant and synthetic materials. There is a lot of money in our skins, so the industry is relentless in harvesting as many of us as they can. Fortunately, we expected their arrival. We huddled together in the swamp. We know how to survive in our own home base. The poachers got caught in quicksand and that was our saving grace. We got away unharmed. We don’t know what happened to them. At least we are still breathing and there is much to say for that!
Q – Zachary, what is so different about your story? What have you come here to tell us today?
A – You just won’t believe some of the antics people perform for money, excitement, and glory. They kill us to take our skins to make apparel, rugs, draperies, and upholstery. Can you imagine such craziness? We have lost too many of our breed and we put our hooves down and said, ENOUGH! We devised a plan that when they showed up to scout us out, that they may see us, but they would not see zebras. We got the monkeys to cover us in mud where our stripes would not show through. We just grazed and looked like the rest of the brown four leggeds and managed to slip in between them to keep from being eyeballed. You see that it worked, because I am so grateful to be here to tell you this story today. Thank you for listening.
Q – Garret, what are you here to tell us today? You have a huge audience! Have at it!
A – I am in really good shape and can leap far and fast, or I wouldn’t be here with you today. Jeeps the speed of light came zipping through in a quest for lots of antler heads. They didn’t realize that I don’t have any, and chased me anyway. They probably just assumed as they watched me leap and hop through the land that I would be good prey for them. I was able to make enough noise to scatter all the gazelle so that none were harmed and the hunters gave up and left. That was one lucky day for all of us. We hope that our telling you these stories will help open the eyes of humans to become humane and realize the atrocities that they are performing for greed and selfishness. How would they like being hunted and destroyed for their hair, flesh, bones, or other parts of them?
Q – Harvey, what have you got to share today? What in the world can you do to protect yourself as big as you are? How can you run and hide? What is it that would cause attention to you?
A – Our teeth; it’s our teeth that they are after. Have you ever seen the size of our teeth? Here, check this out. Do you see how long and pointy they are? They can be used for tools, weapons, and who knows what else humans can conjure? What can we do to protect ourselves? We hide in thick muddy water and in dark and spooky areas that prohibit their ability to see us easily. We slip down with only our snouts and eyeballs and they can’t see us. We make sure they are far far away before we emerge again. We are grateful for the muddy waters. They save us. We are grateful to you and hope you will save us from threats and harm in the future. We are counting on you; us and our sword teeth are counting on you!
Q – Jeremy, we all know that those spots are very attractive to skin hunters who seek you out in the jungle. What do you do to stay alive? Have you had any close calls?
A – They can spot us, pardon the pun, from yards away and we are easy prey for them, except for the fact that we can climb, run, and pounce. The pounce was the one that helped me out of the last ordeal. I was being chased by a couple of skinners. I saw this log a few feet in front of me. I leaped into the tree branches above. As they got close to the large heavy broken limb on the ground, I pounced down really hard on the end that was sticking up and it managed to bash them both knocking them and their rifles to the ground, allowing me to pounce far away into the distance. Anytime I remotely think that I spot one of them, I head for cover, cause I know what they are after and I do all I can to keep them from succeeding. Maybe this will help even more. We need and appreciate you.
Q – Anthony, how in the world would anybody be a threat to you? You have so many abilities that would scare someone. Why are you here being interviewed for a story? What is it?
A – Obviously, you cannot even begin to imagine the nerve of humans; or rather, lack of sense. I am extremely powerful; fast, deadly, and intelligent. It is not easy to pull anything over on me. I am tough and rugged. Those relentless greed mongers thought they were going to get my skin in order to sell my flesh for some very big numbers. They have no idea about the numbers that are working against them!
Q – Terrence, how many people are aware that you are part of the pig family? We are told that your flesh has become as popular as that of the pig. We are here to see what we can help do to prevent either of your breeds from being exploited for food and grant you freedom to roam without any worries and concerns for your life and well-being?
A – We are an endangered species. People have become accustomed to killing us for our meat. It is very traumatic for us, as we used to just be and now we can be found on people’s grills, plates, and in their guts. Not a pleasant thought. The Tapirs have weekly meetings to make certain that we make ourselves scarce and hard to find or capture. So far, it is working and our plans are benefiting us. Please get the word out to your readers so they will know the peril that we are in. It is relatively new, but it is in great volume. Help us! No one knows who could be next on the dinner table. Thanks greatly.
Q – Langley, are your spots the cause of your turmoil?
A – They love us for their zoos. We just want to live in our jungles. They take us from our homes and put us in confined limited spaces, and we have nowhere to run, be free, grow, and be happy. Would they like living in stone walls, isolated, and limited all the days of their lives? We have our antennae up to keep from being caught. We have lots of plots to wreck their success. We cannot tell you or they will catch wind and our schemes will be out in the open. No open schemes and no in the open leopards; that oughta stop their hunting habits!
Q – Bernard, how can anyone not be afraid to confront you? Why would anyone attempt to attack or harm you?
A- They love our claws and part of our masculine structure. Recently, they have begun to eat our meat. I have learned to use these in my favor to save myself. Too bad they were born human instead of sloth bear, or they could’ve been given what I have for free and inherently (naturally). I vow to use my incredible claws, masculine strength (other more private details) and my heavy broad meat to control them from harming me. You are so right; I can protect myself. That is exactly what will occur in the future…no more sloth bears for them.
Q – Perry, we kinda know why they want you. Got any stories that left an impact on you?
A – For a long time, I was able to hide in the trees, however, they started tracking us in the leaves and branches and many of us became shoes, belts, wallets, and you know the rest. I thought, how the heck am I going to be able to save myself? So, out of nowhere came the brilliant idea, to befriend a hippo and win his trust. When we knew the hunters, who target us, were out and about, my buddy hippo opened his mouth wide and I was able to crawl in. Hippo knew exactly when they were gone, opened wide and out I came, in one piece, heart not pounding too heavily, and just plain ole snakeskin grateful. That’s my story and I am sticking to it.
Q – Lennie, oh, proud sir, king of the jungle; you must walk around with a doozy of a story. Does anybody rank as high as you out there? What, pray tell, can you share with us? Can’t wait for this one!
A – You know that we are made to be able to do a vast many things to survive and thrive. Some of our ability are climbing high; being sturdy and tough, having great vision, and making sounds that will scare the hair off a man’s body. We wait patiently for one of those huntin’ dudes to come rolling in, because that is when we can really be ourselves.We usually get the best of them. Pride gets them and the hunters want to go back home with big Lion tales; so I decided to give them some. First, as I was walking along the branches and saw a couple of them on the ground, I didn’t say a thing. I just pounced both at the same time, straddled their bodies and took my breath, teeth, and roar and scared the you know what out of them. When I figured that had a big enough scare, I stepped away from them long enough to laugh myself silly watching them run faster than that Road Runner Ostrich that you people have in cartoons. Talk about a cartoon; boy, was that day entertaining! I’M STILL ROARING!!!
Q – Oliver, don’t all of you spotted kitties get confused with one another in the hunting world? Aren’t any of you afraid they are coming after you instead of one of the others?
A – I’m the littlest “kitty.” roarrrr! All the spotteds recognize me. They and all of the other jungle animals know the difference. Being the smallest, I can find many more places to hide. I still worry from time to time that they’re gonna grab me for my precious skin. I have learned many secrets about where to hide. I have plenty of provisions in case they hang around too long. That’s “ocelot” to expect from a little “kittie.” But hey, I am up for the job and smart enough to do it; don’tcha think?
Q – Percy, I must comment and hope the others don’t hear me, but you have the most gorgeous black fur and illuminating eyes that I have ever seen. Please keep that to yourself. How terribly awful for anything to want to destroy you and your life. Does anything or anyone show up to harm you? Any stories to tell?
A – First of all, thank you for the compliment. That is very kind and generous. I will keep it between the two of us. While we are known for being hunters in our own right, humans who seek our pelts and just for sport are far worse than anything we ever do. Fortunately, we can hide in dark places; heavy brush, black caves, and the likes. Yeah, I have had some close calls. I am grateful that I was able to slither away from being trapped or killed. I am a little older and wiser now and know more what to expect. I have a greater sense how to protect myself and teach the younger ones how to do so also. Lots to say about aging. However, I have never known a black panther to turn gray; maybe because we don’t worry about money, houses, schooling, jobs, cars, and other material things. Ah, jungle, home sweet home. Young forever!
Q – Gerard, this has gotta be tougher on you than anyone. How are you able to hide that long neck, big spots, and tall body? How do you prevent harm from coming to you and your family?
A – So glad you asked. No one ever thinks to ask us. We are such docile creatures. Who would think any harm would ever confront us? Poachers love our hides, meat, and body parts; so sad to say. So, what can we do when they show up? We can almost fold ourselves in half from the waist down. That way, we can hide out in the bush, still, quiet, and just wait it out until we know they have moved on to other locales and that we are safe. Too bad we don’t have massage therapists here, cause sometimes, I feel like I sure could use one; know what I mean?
Q – Tobias, you are such a good guy. Why would anyone want to cause you pain, suffering, or loss of life?
A – We are good guys; we are also very handsome guys. Our skins are some of the most sought after. We got our printing company friend to make new signs. Guess you haven’t seen any yet. We are still staking them in the grounds all around. “Poachers, it is cheaper, safer, more profitable, and less dangerous to purchase fake tiger skins from upholstery manufacturers. You can have all you want anytime. Go for it. It is the smart thing to do.” We sign them: Regards TIGER’S TEETH. We’ll see how smart they are. Hey, thanks for coming!
Q – Eldon, you’re the big guy! Anybody still hunting you?
A – The heartless rascals still poach our ivory and they get to have our meat. Can you imagine somebody wanting to eat us. How long would it take a human to eat an elephant? Berzerko. We practice quick trunk swats and send ’em flying faster than a torpedo! This is good for us and too bad it is bad for the evil ivory thieves. Maybe they will learn to stay home and outta trouble one day. They haven’t experienced the worst of it yet. Keep it up humans; you think you have the best of us. The jungle was made for us, not you; just keep it up! We got to teach ‘em to stay home to keep us from becoming extinct, disappearing permanently, vanishing, and being erased from the planet. What is the earth without its elephants?
Q – Gruber, I guess no human really gets to know you well. Your size probably tends to scare them off. Do you experience any trouble and worries?
A – Gorilla meat. They have taken to eating gorilla meat. They think it’s prestigious. I don’t want to think about it, much less talk about it. I will say this, then I am putting it to bed leaves. If any of them ever attempt to come after me and mine, they have no clue what they will be up against. I have a long reach, big hands, and arms that can squeeze the life out of anything. Get that? Now you know my game plan. Pass it on. Tell ’em to stay home and watch boxing on television. Safer for them that way!
VEGAN SAVES THE WORLD wants to extend a tremendous thanks to all of the participants in our interviews. We know it must be very traumatic to have to recall such life threatening experiences and conditions. We are so glad that you are alive and well and teaching your animal brothers how to save themselves and their families. We will continue to work diligently to educate the global public in hopes that they will educate others to become more humane and conscious to the fact that you are living beings and that your life means as much to you as ours does to us. Good luck, prayers, and compassionate days ahead.