Stories from the Amazon - Rabid Honeybear
I was around 14 at the time this story takes place. I had my first horse, Nathaniel, at the time. Every day I would ride him. We went everywhere together. Sometimes I'd pretend I was Alex Ramsey from the Black Stallion and he was my firey Arabian stallion galloping along the beach. Sometimes I'd just sit on his back while he was grazing and read whatever book I currently was on, always a horse book. Usually we would discover trails in the jungle that nobody else knew of or I'd practice my equitation and dream of riding in the Olympics some day. He was a wonderful first horse and patient with all of my learning about horses.
Our house was being remodeled and we were living in what the mission base referred to as the Children's Home. It was called that because sometimes during the school year a missionary family would live there and take care of all the missionary kids so that the parents could spent time in the Indian villages. My brothers and I stayed there in that purpose a few times. But this time our whole family was staying there. I liked that house because it was the only one that had a basement and it also was right across from the swimming pool
One afternoon, after my daily ride, I had ridden over to the Children's home before taking Nathaniel back to our house for the night. It was almost dusk and the sun was beginning to set. Suddenly an animal came out of the jungle towards us. I had never seen that kind of animal before. It looked like a cross between a cat, monkey and something else... I moved the horse and the animal followed us. We moved again and I jumped off the horse. My brother came around the corner of the house and saw it too. I yelled at him to get something to catch it in. I thought it must be hungry and need a home. I was the kind of person who would bring home random animals and save every creature who came across my path. John ran in the house and came back with a basket. I left Nathaniel grazing and John and I opened the wicker basket and scooped the animal up. We took it in the house and shoved a banana into the basket. We had no idea what it might eat but we figured it might like the banana, since it kinda looked like a monkey. I told John that I was going to run Nathaniel over to our house and grab a extra wire rabbit cage I had over there and I'd be right back.
Hurriedly I took the horse back and got him settled for the night and ran back to the Children's home with the cage. When I opened the front door, the first thing I saw was mom and Celia (the lady who lived with us) up on the kitchen counter with butcher knives in their hands and screaming. John was running around the house and the animal was chasing him. Immediately I jumped up on a chair since I had no idea what was happening! John jumped up on top of the kitchen table. We all were wondering how on earth now we were going to get that animal out of the house. Just then the animal followed John up on top of the table. He hopped down the other side. We started throwing things at it. It bit all the way through the dog food dish we threw at it. It also completely shredded a foam cooler we tried to trap it with. Finally one of us grabbed the broom and were trying to herd it out the front door with the broom. Well instead of herding the creature, it attacked the broom head and wouldn't let go. I yelled at John to just carry it outside and throw it towards the jungle broom and all. He and I did that. We got as close to the jungle as possible with the animal stuck to the end of the broom, running as fast as we could and heaved it as far as we could and sprinted to a safe distance away to see what the animal would do. Thankfully it sauntered off towards the jungle never to be seen again.
We didn't know what that animal was for a long time until we finally figured out it was a Kinkajou. Looking back now we think it must have had rabies because it just kept trying to chase us and bite us. Thankfully nothing bad happened to any of us except for the lost broom and the shredded foam. We still laugh about this story, especially remembering the two women on the counter with the butcher knives and my brother on the kitchen table.
They told me for years after that to never dream of bringing home another stray animal!
Our house was being remodeled and we were living in what the mission base referred to as the Children's Home. It was called that because sometimes during the school year a missionary family would live there and take care of all the missionary kids so that the parents could spent time in the Indian villages. My brothers and I stayed there in that purpose a few times. But this time our whole family was staying there. I liked that house because it was the only one that had a basement and it also was right across from the swimming pool
One afternoon, after my daily ride, I had ridden over to the Children's home before taking Nathaniel back to our house for the night. It was almost dusk and the sun was beginning to set. Suddenly an animal came out of the jungle towards us. I had never seen that kind of animal before. It looked like a cross between a cat, monkey and something else... I moved the horse and the animal followed us. We moved again and I jumped off the horse. My brother came around the corner of the house and saw it too. I yelled at him to get something to catch it in. I thought it must be hungry and need a home. I was the kind of person who would bring home random animals and save every creature who came across my path. John ran in the house and came back with a basket. I left Nathaniel grazing and John and I opened the wicker basket and scooped the animal up. We took it in the house and shoved a banana into the basket. We had no idea what it might eat but we figured it might like the banana, since it kinda looked like a monkey. I told John that I was going to run Nathaniel over to our house and grab a extra wire rabbit cage I had over there and I'd be right back.
Hurriedly I took the horse back and got him settled for the night and ran back to the Children's home with the cage. When I opened the front door, the first thing I saw was mom and Celia (the lady who lived with us) up on the kitchen counter with butcher knives in their hands and screaming. John was running around the house and the animal was chasing him. Immediately I jumped up on a chair since I had no idea what was happening! John jumped up on top of the kitchen table. We all were wondering how on earth now we were going to get that animal out of the house. Just then the animal followed John up on top of the table. He hopped down the other side. We started throwing things at it. It bit all the way through the dog food dish we threw at it. It also completely shredded a foam cooler we tried to trap it with. Finally one of us grabbed the broom and were trying to herd it out the front door with the broom. Well instead of herding the creature, it attacked the broom head and wouldn't let go. I yelled at John to just carry it outside and throw it towards the jungle broom and all. He and I did that. We got as close to the jungle as possible with the animal stuck to the end of the broom, running as fast as we could and heaved it as far as we could and sprinted to a safe distance away to see what the animal would do. Thankfully it sauntered off towards the jungle never to be seen again.
We didn't know what that animal was for a long time until we finally figured out it was a Kinkajou. Looking back now we think it must have had rabies because it just kept trying to chase us and bite us. Thankfully nothing bad happened to any of us except for the lost broom and the shredded foam. We still laugh about this story, especially remembering the two women on the counter with the butcher knives and my brother on the kitchen table.
They told me for years after that to never dream of bringing home another stray animal!
You are very fortunate one of you didn't get bitten!
ReplyDelete