Vilcabamba, like most Animalian colonies heavily depended tourism and having people from the outside world coming to visit the colony to see things that had otherwise been discovered or to help with any sort of archeology or other related actions that went along with things at the colony. However, with the rampant spread of the Corona Virus around the globe, that industry was rapidly beginning to suffer. It meant fewer guests came into Vilcabamba to stay in the hotel and the more residents had to rely on subsistence fishing and local trade with its Brazilian "sister-city."
Most of the contact that did come in from other places were often calls to the Horizon offices, that ran a small medical center in the main hotel at Vilcabamba. This often included worried calls concerning the Corona Virus and whether or not becoming an Animalian would make them immune to it. The Horizon officials and staff, however, warned that while things like Project Phoenix and the use of the Animalia Virus might cure someone with the rapidly spreading pandemic disease, there was no guarantee that the person wouldn't contract it again, largely because of the fact that every Animalian took on Human-like traits when uplifted and those that were converted kept a small fraction of their Human DNA after becoming Animalians. In this, unless the person really wanted to be an Animalian, they instructed that conversion was not the way escape the Corona Virus, if that was the only objective.
"I don't think this will be getting any better," Cranio said as he looked out at the television screen that was across the lobby from the front desk that he and Mandibula were manning for the moment. The television was presently airing one of Brazil's news channels that was covering the outbreak and its spread.
"The spread won't... thankfully the mortality rate seems low..." Mandibula sighed, "though... that spread being so fast will make many other things tough..."
"Like things here," Cranio said slowly, "no guests... means we won't have much to earn..."
"Vilcabamba will have other sources of income," Mandibula answered, "even if they aren't the main source of income..."
Cranio nodded as he thought back on some events from a few weeks earlier...
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"You're from Columbia..." Cranio said slowly as he, Mandibula, and a couple of Horizon's scientists sat down with man who'd come in to Vilcabamba, doused his hands in sanitizer before joining them in the office area behind the front desk. Cranio noted fairly quickly that while the man spoke Portuguese, Brazil's language, it was done with a Spanish accent.
"Yes," the man nodded, "and I'm here because my government has growing concerns over an old problem..."
"Old?" Mandibula wondered.
"It is one that goes back to the days of Pablo Escobar..." the man answered, "his drug ring was brought down a peg back in the nineties when he died... but he left consequences."
"This is about his hippos, then, isn't it?" one of the Horizon officials asked back to which the Columbian official nodded.
"Hippos... don't they live in Africa?" Mandibula asked.
"Naturally, yes," the Horizon official answered, "but Pablo Escobar, like many people with money was happily willing to spend it on things that would be exotic in taste, and this included a large menagerie of animals not native to South America... including Hippopotamus."
"My government managed to confiscate the other animals and see that they would go to zoos and shelters and wouldn't interfere with Columbia's wildlife and people," the Columbian official answered, "but the Hippos managed to escape attention and are now roaming an area near where Escobar lived and have been moving farther from it... and their numbers have been increasing... as unlike Africa, South America has no predator that would pose a threat to an adult Hippo..."
"Africa really doesn't have a predator that would pose a threat to an adult Hippo, either," the Horizon official added, "a pride of lions, maybe... but they'd still need to catch one hippo on land. And while Nile Crocodiles may eat dead hippos that they find... the larger mammal has been known to attack and kill the crocodiles when they threaten calves or try to take their water."
Mandibula and Cranio's eyes widened at that. The Nile Crocodile was one of the larger crocodilian species, along with the Saltwater Crocodile, the American Alligator, the Black Caiman, and the Orinoco Crocodile, and if hippos were known to kill Nile Crocodiles, there was the knowledge that neither Mandibula nor Cranio could even take one on, let alone an entire population of them.
"The government's real fear is that they will wander into farm lands and areas where Columbia's people live and thus people will lose their lives to these animals," the Columbian official explained, "the thing we'd wish to arrange would be a way to uplift them... As if they all become Animalians, they could better integrate with Human society than being a threat to them."
There were a few nods, and Mandibula and Cranio thought that'd make sense. After all, from what they knew on Animalia, many of the Animalians there weren't necessarily native to North America, and places like Dino City and Dinotopia Aquatica had Animalians that were from much earlier points in Earth's history, and for the most part they all got along well and weren't interfering with nature that much. Thus uplifting these hippos would be the right thing. Though as they looked to the Horizon agent, they noted a look of worry on his face.
"And we can help with that," the Horizon official spoke, "though... we don't have much in the way of darts that would pierce a Hippo's skin and a limited supply of the Animalia Virus that we can use and carry at any one time... Not to mention that it is quite likely that many of Pablo Escobar's hippos have dispersed to a point where we can't go in in one effort and uplift them all... not all at once."
"Than what would suggest we do?" the Columbian official asked back, "just ignore them?!"
"No..." the Horizon official answered, "but to have it done in stages. We uplift one or two and let them establish a sort of base camp near the area where they are. From there, they can begin to patrol and uplift additional hippos as needed. It may take time, but it would also assure that the new Animalians would have an easier time adapting to being Animalians... rather than rushing to uplift them all and find there are no resources available to care for them all."
"It'd then be a colony," Cranio said slowly.
"And the Columbian government could then employ the first that are uplifted as a sort of ranger to monitor the unuplifted population and keep in contact with them as they then uplift those that they can as progress is made," the Horizon official said to the Columbian government official.
"I may need to consult with my government and the residents near Villa Napoles… as to how they may be managed," the Columbian official answered, "but given the environmental concerns... I'd think that any response in that regard would be considered acceptable."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It took a few days, but eventually Columbia agreed a deal that would allow for the uplifting of two Hippopotamuses who would then essentially set up what would eventually develop into a colony for the Columbian Hippos that would then protect both Columbia's people and the animals. There were some complaints from the local population over the potential loss of the villa as a theme park on Pablo Escobar's villa and from the government on having to essentially hire the new Animalians to serve as rangers to patrol and contain the Columbian Hippos. The later issue was likely in the fact that deliveries of clothing and the Animalia Virus for all the new Animalians over time would cost money, but Horizon did offer various potential discounts that help them out over time.
Once all the agreements came through, Vilcabamba's chief Horizon official came to Villa Napoles and overlooked some of the ponds where animals were presently lounging. He'd met with one ranger already employed by the Columbian government who had a large dart rifle and moved toward the bond in the relative safety of an SUV.
"Your system will work?" the ranger asked the Horizon official asked, "it won't kill them or anything?"
"It shouldn't," the Horizon official answered, "no Animalian has ever died as part of the uplifting process."
The ranger nodded and moved to roll down the window to allow him to better aim the dart rifle out toward the relaxing animals. Most of them were fully in the water, but a pair were laying side by side in the grass by the edge of the water.
"And it won't panic the herd?" the ranger asked.
"They might panic a little," the Horizon official answered, "thus why we should do this with those on the edge of the herd. The rest won't be too directly effected and the new Animalians will be able to move away from the rest... should someone not be happy with their being uplifted... Though the new Animalians should able to get to some safety as well..."
"Okay then..." the ranger answered and took the first dart from the Horizon official and loaded it. Once that was done he aimed and fired. He then loaded the second dart, loaded and then aimed at another hippo and again fired.
From there the Horizon official, the driver, and the Columbian "ranger" could only watch. He'd successfully hit the two that were on the edge, and both did give a few startled grunts as they were hit, but thankfully, most of those that were in the water or on the other side of the pond didn't seem that concerned. A few moved off as a result of some of the panicked grunting that the two that were darted made, but for the moment there was major issue with them running off in panic. The three men took that with some relief.
Meanwhile the two darted hippos stumbled up and away from the pond and began changing as they did so. The observers watched as their legs grew a little bit longer and some of the mass around their middles were lost, but this also rapidly fit other restructuring of their bodies. With one it became very clear as he stood up onto his rear legs and the group in the SUV could see his shoulders widening and its fore-feet shifting into a more hand like structure. Between its legs, were the clear and obvious indications that would indicate that first was a male. The second stood up along side the male while going through similar though different changes. The second's hips seemed wider and a pair of breasts were developing on her chest.
"So we have a male and female," the Horizon official said slowly.
"Escobar had male and female hippos," the ranger answered, "that's partially why some environmental groups have been nervous. On the plus side they might restore some elements that were lost due to the dwindling number of large semi-aquatic herbivores... but on the negative side, they're large, potentially territorial and aggressive, and could so dominate the environment that native life wouldn't compete. But relocating them would expensive... killing them wouldn't be popular... and sterilizing them would expensive, difficult, and dangerous."
"Hopefully these two new Animalians can help," the Horizon official asked.
"I'm sure Pablo and Magda would be more than happy to... once we explain... you say they'll know things?" the ranger commented.
"Uplifted Animalians often show a surprising amount of intelligence when uplifted," the Horizon official answered, "our best guess is that the uplifting process unlocks things the new Animalian heard before being uplifted."
The ranger nodded when he turned to see the male Hippo Animalian, Pablo, standing just outside the door.
"That was... weird... why did you shoot me?" Pablo asked.
"To help you," the ranger said, "and I'm sure you have questions... but if we could move away from the pond... my friends and I would be happy to explain."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
After that, the Horizon scientist returned to Vilcabamba, though there was some travel and coordination plans that would enable the Horizon offices in Brazil to keep in contact with Pablo and Magda as they settled into the roles assigned to help manage the wild Hippopotamus population Columbia and bring its numbers down. From what he told Cranio and Mandibula when he returned, he thought there might also be some way for Columbia and Brazil to open greater diplomatic ties in a way that would cut down on potential issues between the two countries that might develop.
The two Black Caiman Animalians accepted that, though as they looked out to the television again that was now showing a chart of all the people contracting the Corona Virus world wide, there were still some worries on travel. In this, even if South America wasn't getting the worst of the present outbreak, there was still a great degree of concern that they might not get the chance to meet the two new Animalians or that Vilcabamba and other colonies might have a down year and thus wouldn't be able to help Pablo and Magda. About all they could do for the moment, was hope.