The Macreatures Odyssey

By Philip Chua

This book is an adventure story of how a brave band of animals escaped from the Zoo and, having fought fierce battles against feral dogs inhabiting the Mandai forest, moved to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve Park and eventually to the MacRitchie Reservoir Park to set up their Shangri-la in the remnants of the Japanese Shinto shrine. Through the many trials and tribulations, this growing band of animals forged strong bonds of friendship and camaraderie and identify themselves as the Macreatures.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Nov 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543743159

Philip Chua

Recently retired, Philip Chua is actively engaged in activities ranging from long walks to trying his hand at photography, writing stories and poems, to volunteering at a children’s home and at the Waterways Watch Society picking rubbish around the Marina Bay area.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 by Philip Chua.

Illustrated by Salvador Capuyan

ISBN:       Softcover       978-1-5437-4316-6

                 eBook            978-1-5437-4315-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

F

or Edwin and Eileen Chua

The Zoo Escapees

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1   Escape from the Zoo

Chapter 2   Journey to and Defense of the Eastern Knoll

Chapter 3   Discovery of the Escape and Gary’s Punishment

Chapter 4   Friends and Foes

Chapter 5   The Animal Jamboree Cum Picnic

Chapter 6   The Fight and the Destruction of the Eastern Knoll

Chapter 7   Retreat to Granite Hill

Chapter 8   Contingency Plans

Chapter 9   The Betrayal

Chapter 10   The Ruse and Movement to the Bukit Timah Cave Path

Chapter 11   Sojourn at Bukit Timah Hill

Chapter 12   War Stories and Planning for the Final Move

Chapter 13   Westlake Ducks

Chapter 14   Final Move to the Shrine at MacRitchie Reservoir

Chapter 15   The MacRitchie Adventures

Chapter 16   The Boss’s Retirement and the Animal Code of Conduct

Chapter 17   Gary’s Return and the Dissolution of the Macreatures

Epilogue

About the Author

Preface

This book is an adventure story of how a brave band of animals escaped from the Zoo and, having fought fierce battles against the feral dogs inhabiting the Mandai forest areas, moved to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve Park and eventually to the MacRitchie Reservoir Park to set up their Shangri-la in the remnants of the Japanese Shinto shrine. Through the many trials and tribulations, this growing band of animals forged strong bonds of friendship and camaraderie and identify themselves as the Macreatures.

This story aims to do the following:

1. Heighten the public’s awareness of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve—its topography, flora, and fauna

2. Provide a zany look at some historical events, current developments, and contemporary issues

3. Explore the themes of friendship and rivalry, courage, perseverance, and self-sacrifice in the face of adversity

List of Ilustrations

I1:   Escape from the Zoo—Perilous Journey Across Seletar Reservoir

I2:   Animal Jamboree—The 3-Legged Race

I3:   The Fight—Adnan’s Last Stand & Fire on the Eastern Knoll

I4:   Escape from Granite Hill to Bukit Timah Cave Path via the Eco-Link

I5:   War Stories—General Yamashita at the summit with Macaque attempting to snatch his sword

I6:   Ollie with Charlotte & her otter family in Marina Bay

List of Maps

M1:   Macreatures Odyssey: From Zoo to MacRitchie Reservoir

M2:   Defensive Layout for Eastern Knoll

M3:   Layout of Jamboree Games

M4:   Feral Dogs’ Attack Plan

M5:   Withdrawal To Granite Hill

M6:   Escape from Granite Hill

M7:   Bukit Timah Base

M8:   MacRitchie Base

M9:   Route from MacRitchie Reservoir to Marina Bay

M10:   New Eco-tourism Hub

The Macreatures Odyssey

From Zoo to MacRitchie Reservoir

M1.jpg

Chapter 1

Escape from the Zoo

It was a hot and humid afternoon. Mack, the resident macaw, was woken up from his afternoon siesta.

Wake up! shouted Pretty, the proud white peacock. Everyone’s waiting for you to start the twelve-thirty show. Strange as it might sound, Pretty was really a male peacock with a girly name, while Patrick, his not-so-flamboyant partner, was a female peahen.

Oh, don’t bother me, replied Mack grumpily. This is a zoo for animals, and I’m not even one. I should properly be in the Bird Park together with the other birds and enjoy proper bird food and a bigger enclosure to fly around in instead of being cooped up in a smelly cage next to the orang utans’ enclosure. And why can’t they get more of the other lazy animals to perform and earn their keep? How about that old Ah Beng [orang utan] who does nothing more than having breakfast with visitors every day?

Mack was not only angry that his siesta was interrupted daily at 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., there were rumors that he might even have to perform at the Night Safari. Imagine the indignity of it all—that a colorful, talented bird like him had to work triple shifts while his erstwhile friends at the Bird Park were spared this chore. What was most galling to Mack was that he was forced as a stand-in for Billy the Hornbill who, tired of performing at the Rainforest Fights Back show, fled the enclosure he shared with the derisory-looking proboscis monkeys. Billy had escaped the Zoo when his enclosure’s netting was torn by a fallen tree branch during a stormy night. Since then, all the birds were not allowed to fly freely in their enclosures and were locked up in small cages at night. Things really came to a boil one evening when, as Mack was settling down in his cage for the night, Billy came back and started boasting about his newfound freedom in the wild.

Hello, Billy, long time no see! said Mack. What on earth are you doing here, putting yourself at the risk of being caught and put back to work?

I say, Mack, it has been over a month since I left, and I felt a bit nostalgic about the dear friends and the camaraderie we had on the show. It’s a small risk as most of the keepers are off work by 7:30 p.m., and even if they were around, few would spot my black and white plumage in the dark. And by the way, I’m now settled on a small knoll barely a kilometer south of here, ahem —Billy clears his throat— with Bahira. She’s a lady hornbill from up north, and her name means dazzling or brilliant.

Congratulations, Billy, said Mack. You not only have found freedom, you also found a new love. Any little Billies yet?

No, but Bahira intends to have at least half a dozen as it’s their custom up north. Well, enough of Bahira. You’ll get to meet her for a proper introduction if you’re able to come with me. What I have come to tell you folks is that there’s a big, beautiful world out there across the waters where one can roam freely, see new sights, and eat and rest whenever one wishes.

What about food? And will it be safe? asked Mack.

Worry not, said Billy. While you may not get food delivered to you at regular hours, there are plenty of wild fruits and even the odd clumps of papaya, rambutan, and chiku trees where the humans once lived in the surrounding forest, assured Billy. And the knoll we are on commands the surrounding forest—any wild animals like feral dogs are easily spotted and chased away. In fact, there are large stones at the top of the knoll, making it an impregnable fortress if push comes to shove and a real fight develops.

It sounds great, but how am I going to get out of this cage? said Mack. You were lucky to make your escape. We’ve no such luck now that they have confined all of us in cages.

Fear not, said Billy. Perhaps we can enlist the help of the other animals to liberate you from the cage. What about the orang utans next door? They are intelligent animals and could open the cage door for you in no time.

No, no. I wouldn’t even think of that, replied Mack. The orang utans can’t be trusted—they know they are the ‘stars’ of the Zoo, are well-fed, do no work, and are most likely to tell the zookeepers of our escape plan, so that their names could be memorialised. Although their biggest star, Ah Meng, and her descendants are docile and domesticated, they are definitely in cahoots with the zookeepers to ensure the other animals toe the line.

What about other animals like Dipo the Pygmy Hippo? asked Billy. Or Ollie the Otter and Titus the Giant Tortoise?

Come on, surely there must be other animals which for one reason or another would also like to escape and taste the freedom of the wild? Most of them were born in the wild and have tasted freedom before they were brought to live in the Zoo. No self-respecting animals would want to be domesticated, although some, like our lazy orang utans, have succumbed to a life of luxury in the Zoo, protested Billy.

For Billy, putting aside his bravado about the safety and the defensibility of his redoubt on the knoll, he longed for companionship especially among his old friends at the Zoo. Also, he reckoned there was safety in numbers should the feral dogs come to attack his fortress. And finally, more friends would help him relieve the tedium of constantly searching for food to feed Bahira who had by now sealed herself in the hollow of a tree, sitting on a clutch of two eggs.

The tête-à-tête went on for hours till Billy heard the loud kok! kok! sounds coming from across the waters. It was Bahira’s call for him to return to the roost—not that the night was approaching, but that Billy might consort with the wrong sorts of hornbills in the Zoo. Before flying back to his roost on the knoll, Billy promised Mack he would enlist the help of Gary—a mysterious young man who had just been recruited as a visitor ambassador for the Zoo. The latter had promised to speak with the other animals keen to escape the Zoo and establish a new colony on the knoll.

Gary knew all the animals intimately, having been brought up in a family of zookeepers; nay, his own father was in fact none other than the founding director of the Zoo. While he liked his job—especially of enthralling kids with stories about the various animals and imitating their calls, it really wasn’t his calling. His secret mission was in fact to free them from the clutches of the now commercialized Zoo!

Gary’s late father Harry had founded the Zoo on the twin principles of animal conservation—to save wild animals from extinction caused by the clearing of forests and their natural habitats, and to champion animal rights and welfare. It was never to operate the Zoo for commercial profit, that is, to feed the animals just enough and work them tirelessly in innumerable shows to attract more visitors and gate takings. Gary’s father had often taken him on daily walks in the twenty-eight-hectare Zoo, visiting each enclosure and making sure each animal was well-fed and the enclosure properly cleaned when the visitors were gone. It was during all these visits that Gary learned the behaviours and the secret languages that the animals used with each other.

The idyllic atmosphere where all the animals in the Zoo lived contented lives shielded from the dangers of their natural habitats was shattered when the business-minded rulers of the land decided that they would no longer fund the Zoo’s expenses. Not only would the Zoo be self-funding, it would also have to contribute to the state coffers. Food, which hitherto was a major expense, was to be cut back, and manpower to feed the animals and to clean the enclosures were similarly reduced. The size of enclosures were reduced to accommodate more and varied species of animals, and new amphitheaters were set up where animals would be taught to perform tricks to entertain and bring in more visitors. And in the name of efficiency, the Zoo was to be amalgamated with the Exotic Bird Park and the Night Safari.

While Harry had tried to plea with the corporation appointed by the rulers to oversee the Zoo for better welfare for the animals, the last move to centralize the management effectively removed Harry’s voice from the running of the Zoo. Henceforth, all decisions regarding the running of the Zoo were to be referred to the new management committee that sat in a gleaming office tower at Raffles Place. Harry resigned as director of the Zoo which he had founded and grew for almost thirty years. He exiled himself to an island far away from Singapore and decided to set up a Zoo consulting company there.

Prior to his demise, Harry had often expressed his guilt to Gary that he had misled the Zoo animals and hoped that someday Gary could help them regain their freedom. Gary took his late father’s words to heart and resolved to return incognito to the Zoo to free the animals and fulfill his father’s last wish.

As Gary sat under a tree at the water’s edge just outside the Kiddy Pavilion reminiscing the past, an idea suddenly came to him. As a toddler, he was already familiar with the various animal calls, how each sound corresponded with each animal’s movement or behavior, and how animals of different species could talk to each other through a mixture of sounds and eye movements. Perhaps, instead of just being a visitor ambassador, he could volunteer as a cleaner as well. As a cleaner, he would be allowed to enter the enclosures and surreptitiously talk to the animals and find out their desire for freedom. After all, this was a job that few locals would do and surely the management would welcome volunteer cleaners because the rulers had restricted the employment of foreigners, especially those whom they fear are susceptible of being radicalised.

Just as Gary was scratching his head, pondering which animal he should approach first, Billy, the escaped hornbill, flew to the palm tree Gary was sitting under near the Kiddy Pavilion. Billy wasted no time telling Gary of Mack’s dissatisfaction with the Zoo management and of Mack’s yearning to escape the tiny cage they had now confined him to every night.

Besides him, several animals are also thinking of escaping the oppressive atmosphere that now shrouds the Zoo, said Billy. "And I have already spoken with Ollie the Otter, Dipo the Pygmy Hippo, and Tutti the Giant Tortoise. They all seemed keen to be free of the confines of their smelly enclosures and to have a dip in the Seletar Reservoir. I have also spoken with Bunny the Giant Rabbit, but both he and his companion were reluctant. They said they couldn’t swim across the waters and would likely drown or be eaten by the monitor lizards or even crocodiles living on the far edge of the waters. They were, however, curious to find out about the ‘Rocket’ poised at the far shore. Bunny, in particular, has heard stories of a giant rabbit [presumably his distant relative] residing on the moon and wonders if a similar ‘Rocket’ had taken it there. Dangers aside, it would be a great honor if he could one day become the second giant rabbit to land on the moon.

Of course, there are others,