Amazing Animal stories based on true events E-Book

L. Laddy

• Herausgeber: BoD - Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 111

Beschreibung

Friendship between humans and animals is almost as old as humanity itself. Some of these friendships and experiences are unique. Like that of Sergei, a forest inspector from Siberia, who received unexpected help when he was in desperate need. Two poachers overpowered the animal rights activist and chained him to a railroad track in revenge. As a freight train approaches, Sergei is suddenly surrounded by a pack of wolves. Can the driver of the approaching freight train recognize the living shield and stop it in time? Moroccan Salim and his mare Kala share a deep friendship. When Salim falls ill and is left for dead, Kala senses that he needs her help. Can the horse save Salim from being buried alive? These two and five other exciting stories based on true events tell of extraordinary friendships. A book that will captivate readers from the first page.

Leseprobe

Animals can't write the word love, but they can show it all the better.

Unknown author

Pixabay License: https://pixabay.com/de/service/license/

Table of Contents

1. The Siberian Wolf Pack

2. The Fisherman and the Great White Shark

3. Horse Love

4. Dog Loyalty in the Face of Death

5. Jikitaya, the Jaguar

6. A Wolf Called "Ear"

7. Mansur the Bear

The Siberian Wolf Pack

Not many people can say they are willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of another person. Especially not for someone they don't even know. That makes the story of Siberian forestry inspector Sergei all the more incredible. Because he was saved by wild animals, a pack of wolves, who were willing to sacrifice themselves for him.

Dimitri was born into a Siberian family of railway workers. The village where he lived was far from the big city of Irkutsk, and the railroad was not only the largest employer in the area, but also the only one. At least if you were looking for a secure job. You could still choose whether you wanted to be a mechanic or a train driver.

After Dimitri finished school, he first tried his luck in faraway Irkutsk, where he began to study engineering.

After only a few months, he realized that the big city was too much for him. So the young man followed the family tradition and became a train driver, just like his father and his father's father. A new dream was born. His goal was to become one of the train drivers on the most famous railroad in the world. Dimitri wanted to travel the 9,288 kilometers from Moscow to Vladivostok in the cab of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

After successfully completing his training, he began driving as a second engineer on various routes, and after a short time was assigned to drive freight trains as a first engineer. This was the first step towards his goal.

Dimitri loved his job and enjoyed driving through the vast Siberian countryside in winter and summer, transporting his heavy cargo from city to city. On each trip he melted into the vastness, beauty, and also the loneliness of the sheer endlessness of Siberia. The young man liked both the hot, short summers and the icy, long winters. For him, Siberia was the most beautiful and adventurous country in the world.

Dimitri was enthusiastic about his current route. The route was never the same, and no matter how many times he traveled it, he always discovered new places of beauty.

One day, however, he would experience something he would never forget for the rest of his life.

It is difficult to capture the wild beauty of Siberia in a few words. At about 16 million square kilometers, the country is larger than Europe, and from north to south, polar desert, tundra, taiga, forest steppe, and steppe follow one another. Countless wild animals live in the vast primeval forests. Unfortunately, there are far too few forest rangers to protect these animals from poachers. The life of these poorly paid men is meager, dangerous and lonely. Wandering around the country, you will often see graves with inscriptions that tell you which ranger fell victim to one or more poachers.

One of these brave forest rangers was Sergei. He dedicated his life to nature and animals more than 40 years ago. The forest inspector lived far from civilization in a state-owned log cabin in the middle of the forests near Lake Baikal. The nearest village was a two-day hike away, and it took Sergei four to five days to get to Irkutsk. Fortunately, he only had to go to the city once a year.

The forest inspector loved the silence and the wilderness. He took care of the animals, studied their behavior, respected them and hunted their human enemies, the poachers. He was the master of the forest, he knew every tree, every path, every hill and every danger spot. He could move silently and make himself invisible. Sergei was feared by the poachers, and since he had captured the two most dangerous of them a few years ago and put them in prison, his territory was avoided by all poachers.

The forester didn't hate the days when he had to go to the village, but he didn't like them much either. They were simply necessary to replenish his supplies and send his monthly report to the office in town. He used the fax machine in the village store.

He also got everything he needed to live here. Beans, bacon, tea, pipe tobacco, rifle cartridges, and his beloved vodka. Sergei finished every evening with a glass of vodka. He swore that this was the secret of his robust health. He couldn't remember ever having been to a doctor. Except for the dentist, of course. He went to the dentist when he visited the city. A glass of vodka. No more, no less. When the bottle was empty, he knew it was time to make the report and go to the village.

People liked the oddball, who looked like a wild hermit, a kind of Robinson Crusoe from the woods. His shaggy hair was hidden under a fur cap. The long, gray beard covered much of his face. He looked grumpy, and those who didn't know him gave him a wide berth when he stepped out of the woods, dragging his sled and shouldering his rifle. Those who knew him were delighted, because Sergei always had a funny story to tell.

It was always the same. As soon as he reached the edge of the village, he was quickly surrounded by children. Laughing and dancing around him, they shouted: "Father Sergei, tell us a story about wolves or bears."

The forest ranger usually adjusted his fur hat, scratched his long gray beard, and smiled before beginning his story. His story always ended when he entered the village store, where he gave each child a treat.

As she did every month, the store owner, Ludmilla, stood behind the counter and packed up Sergei's things while he stood at the fax machine and sent off his report. The two of them chatted and when everything was done, the forest inspector paid. As usual, Ludmilla took the bills, put them in the cash register and put the change on the table.

She had taken over the small shop from her parents a few years ago and had known Sergei since childhood. Her speech was the same. "Father Sergei, how much longer are you going to live out there in the forest? Shouldn't you have retired by now?"

The forester put away the groceries and slipped the two rubles in change into his pocket. The tone of Ludmilla's voice caught his attention. He noticed the worry lines on her forehead. "Well," he cleared his throat, "this was supposed to be my last year, but I've asked the comrades in charge for an extension. I think I can easily work for another five years."

Ludmilla closed the register. "You know you are very welcome here in the village. My uncle's small apartment recently became available. He's moved to the city for good. It doesn't cost much in rent and..."

"Child," Sergei interrupted her, "I belong in the forest and I feel safe in my log cabin."

They were silent for a moment. Then Sergei added, "Now tell me what's wrong. I can see it on your face. It's not about my retirement."

She nodded. "I read it in the paper," she began in a hushed voice, "they were fired."

"Who?"

"The Osmanov brothers. You put them in jail four years ago."

Sergei nodded. "Yes. They were two tough guys. I caught them red-handed. One of them even pointed at me and pulled the trigger, but his shotgun jammed. When I said my gun would work and pointed it at them, they surrendered." His expression darkened. "They had a lot of furs in their hideout. The sentence for both of them was still far too lenient."

Ludmilla agreed. Sergei made a dismissive gesture with his hand and turned to leave. "I hope they learned their lesson during their imprisonment."

Ludmilla spoke louder. "They swore revenge then," she warned.

Sergei went to the door and opened it. A cold wind blew into the village shop. He turned around for a moment. "Child, don't worry. You don't want to go back to prison. There haven't been any poachers in this area since the two brothers were locked up. That was a deterrent."

As soon as he had finished speaking, he trudged to the sled, tied up his purchases and set off. He no longer heard Ludmilla's "Good luck, Father Sergei."

Sergei had mastered the art of setting up camp for the night in the freezing cold. Instead of building a snow cave, he decided to spend the night in a snow ditch. Without much effort, he dug a hole in the snow and built a fire. He had carried some dry wood on his sled just for this purpose. He stretched a canvas tent over the hole for a roof and used a large fur for insulation on the cold ground.

The forest ranger added two large logs to the crackling fire before curling up in his sleeping bag, also made of furs. Wolves howled in the distance. Somewhere a branch collapsed under the weight of the snow. For Sergei, these were everyday sounds. He was tired and fell asleep.

A sharp pain rudely woke the forester from his sleep. Someone had pushed something hard into his side. A punch in the face and a kick in the ribs followed. Sergei instinctively raised his arms to protect his head from further blows. A cry escaped his lips: "Ahh...". His side hurt like hell. Broken ribs. He blinked, recognized two figures, and started to turn around to grab his weapon.

Malicious laughter rang out. "Looking for this, old man?" one of the men asked.

"Go on, shoot him!" demanded the second man.

A surge of adrenaline ran through Sergei. It was unmistakably the Osmanov brothers. The two poachers must have seen him in the village and followed his trail.

Goose bumps formed on the back of his neck and spread down his back to the tips of his toes.

"What do you want?" he hissed. Inwardly, he cursed himself. In the past, this would not have happened. His sleep had always been so light that he had even heard animals approaching. How could this have happened? If only he had listened to Ludmilla's warning. His life was about to end. Ended by two criminals who were going to kill a bunch of wild animals to sell their furs. Or who killed bears to sell their paws, so coveted in China. Anger boiled over. Sergei's right hand moved almost imperceptibly to his belt. His knife was there. He would defend himself. He could not allow these two men to continue poaching.

"No, not here. He should suffer. He should know that he will die and wait for death, just as we have waited in prison for four years for the day of his release".

A wolf's howl broke the silence. More wolves joined in.

One of the brothers laughed and pointed into the dark night. "They're singing your death song!"

The butt of the rifle slammed into Sergei's head. The last sound he heard was the wolves' howling, which grew louder and louder.

When Sergei came to, the sun had risen. He looked straight into the yellowish eyes of a wolf. Fear ran through him. Sergei opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. His puff of breath intersected with the animal's. The wolf stood calmly in front of him, staring at him. No snarling, no hasty movement, no growling. It just stood there, staring at him. The look was almost gentle.

Sergei thought he was suffering from delusions. It must have something to do with the blow on the head, he told himself. The inspector tried to move. He immediately winced in pain. The two poachers had broken at least one or two of his ribs. They dug into his side like lances. He was also lying on something very hard, and his head was throbbing terribly. When he tried to move his arms and legs, he realized that he was handcuffed to the railing with iron chains. Sergei raised his head as high as he could and was scared to death.

There were at least ten or twelve wolves around him. The animals he had protected for four decades would soon kill and eat him. He hoped for a quick death bite so he wouldn't feel the pain when they ate him alive. Sergei was terrified. Deadly afraid.

For a moment, he wished that the poachers had shot him. Then he would lie in the forest and feel nothing. Now he had to surrender to his fate. He was at the mercy of the wolf pack.

Serguei closed his eyes for a moment. He decided to bend his head as far back as possible to expose his neck for a merciful death bite. The wolf in front of him approached and sniffed. He could feel its hot breath on his face. The whole body of the bound and wounded man trembled.