Safari-saurus

A group of animals come up with an idea to supercharge the human's safari tours.
Written especially for this podcast by Alice. 

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In order to allow us to make these stories we offer a premium subscription and run adverts. The adverts are not chosen by us, but played automatically depending on the platform you listen through (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc) and the country you live in. The adverts may even be different if you listen to the story twice.

We have had a handful of instances where an advert has played that is not suitable for a family audience, despite the podcast clearly being labelled for children. If you’re concerned about an advert you hear, please contact the platform you are listening to directly. Spotify, in particular, has proven problematic in the past, for both inappropriate adverts and the volume at which the adverts play. If you find this happening, please let Spotify know via their Facebook customer care page. 

As creators, we want your child’s experience to be a pleasurable one. Running adverts is necessary to allow us to operate, but please do consider the premium subscription service as an alternative – it’s advert free.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Yea. Hello. My name's Josephine and this is the Animal
Tales podcast, where you suggest the animals featured in our stories.
There are new tales to enjoy every Monday and Wednesday,
with a third premium only story every Friday. Our Animal
Tales short story books are available on Amazon, collecting your

(00:34):
favorite stories to help encourage reading. If you've bought a book,
please leave an Amazon review if you can, it would
be a great help. Jack lives in Auckland in New Zealand,
and he's asked for a story featuring a hippo and
a t rex. You can learn more about these creatures
in the animal facts after the story. Okay, are you ready?

(00:59):
That's good, then I'll begin Safari saw us. It was
the cries of a hornbill that awoke Jack. He'd been
dozing beside a watering hole, and the sudden noise startled him.
They're coming, They're coming, the hornbill called, swooping overhead. Jack's

(01:22):
ears flicked with excitement. The hippopotamus had been waiting for
this moment, so wasted no time in clambering to his
feet to reach the water. Are you ready, Jack? A
herd of gazells called out bounding past almost Jack replied,
wading into the cool, refreshing pond. All around him, the

(01:47):
animals were stirring. The giraffes stretched their long necks, while
the elephants shook dust off their ears. The zebras all
crowded together a sea of black and white, while little
oxpeckers fidgeted on the rumps of rhinos and buffaloes. Jack
loved this part. It happened every time. The gazelles were

(02:11):
lining up all along the edge of the water, dipping
their necks down to drink. The giraffe stretched upwards towards
the tallest tree branches, showing off their long necks. Mere
cats stood upright keeping watch and Jack, the large, happy hippo,
slowly sank down into the water until only his ears

(02:34):
and eyes stuck out. The scene was set. Everything was perfect.
A moment later, the low rumble of vehicle engines could
be heard. Two roofless jeeps came trundling from between the trees.
This is what the animals had been waiting for humans

(02:57):
on a safari. Animals loved what came next. They loved
making the humans gasp and point and cheer. They liked
making the children laugh, and the adults cry out in delight.
The elephants would raise their trunks and trumpet, The flamingos

(03:17):
would fly away in a cloud of pink, and the
cheetahs would race past, almost too fast to keep up with.
It was a show, a performance, and the animals loved
putting it on just as much as the humans enjoyed
watching it. At least that was how it used to
be more recently, When the Safari cars rolled to a stop,

(03:43):
the humans barely reacted at all. They didn't look very
interested or even all that impressed. There were few camera flashes,
little pointing, and no cries of excitement. Mahm, I'm bored.
Wind a child in one of the cars, then play

(04:04):
with your dinosaur toy. Dear, came the reply. Is this, it,
said an older man. Those animals are all just standing around.
I could have seen this on my TV at home,
muttered a woman before pulling out a magazine. The Safari

(04:24):
cars stayed for another minute, then trundled off to the
next stop. As soon as they were out of sight,
the animals all collapsed in dismay. Oh it's a disaster,
wailed a giraffe. They just don't find us interesting any more.
They know what to expect. There's no surprises, said a rhino.

(04:49):
Let's face it, guys, the humans just don't find a
safari fun any more. They'd rather be watching shows about
robots and superheroes and dinahs. The other animals agreed, hanging
their heads in defeat. Jack, however, wasn't ready to give
up so easily. There has to be something we can do,

(05:14):
the hippo said, emerging from the water, Away to get
everyone enjoying safarias again, Like what a leopard growled. They've
seen it all before on their TVs or their phones,
or from books or the internet. They're bored of us.
They know everything about us. But what if we can

(05:38):
come up with something new? Suggested Jack? What like a
new animal? Sneered the leopard. Have you got one hidden
under a rock that we don't know about? This raised
some laughs, but Jack wasn't put off. I'm serious. He
suggested a new animal would catch which the human's attention.

(06:02):
What sort of new animal are you thinking of, asked
a vulture. Do you mean something not usually found here,
like a polar bear? Oh? How about something magical, suggested
a buffalo, like a unicorn. Maybe something just a bit different,

(06:22):
like a purple giraffe, asked A hyena, maybe, said Jack,
but I was thinking more like a dinosaur. How on
earth would we do that, a chimpanzee asked in disbelief.
The idea sounded impossible. Leave that to me, Jack said,

(06:45):
and before anyone could say another word, he marched off
through the long grass. Jack got busy. You probably don't
think of hippos as being sneaky animals, but that just
goes to show how good they are at it. Despite
his size, Jack sneaked into storerooms, tiptoed through buildings, and

(07:08):
poked around a university's science lab, and slowly in a
cave in a hillside, Jack built a laboratory of his
very own. Strange noises drifted from that cave as the
days ticked by, and at night the surrounding area would
be illuminated by colorful flashes. Despite their curiosity, though nobody

(07:34):
dared to enter the hippo's lab. It wasn't until the
morning of the sixth day that Jack finally emerged. He
was wearing a lab coat that was slightly too small
around his shoulders. I've done it, I've saved the safari,
the hippopotamus announced, waving triumphantly from on top of a

(07:56):
large mound that overlooked the watering hole. The animals assembled
there gazed upwards, fascinated. Behold, said Jack Tyrannosaurus rex. The
ground shook and the animals stood rooted in horror as

(08:17):
a giant, lumbering shape appeared over the hill. The t
rex was enormous, with sharp claws, huge teeth, and powerful legs.
When it stopped beside the hippo, it cast an enormous
shadow over the watering hole, causing the animals to hold

(08:37):
their breaths. Jack, that's a dinosaur, an elephant said, I know,
Jack replied happily. I did it, just like I said
I would. The other animals couldn't quite believe it. Jack
had done exactly what he'd set out to do. None

(08:59):
of them had really believed that a hippopotamus could actually
do it, and yet he had. Will it try to
eat us? Zebra asked, nervously, saying what many there had
been thinking? Oh? No, said Jack. I've been feeding her pastor,
and her name's Ellie. Say hi, Ellie Hi, said the

(09:24):
t rex, waving one little arm Ellie's a friendly t rex,
Jack explained, and she's going to help us get the
Safari business buzzing again. Trust me, this'll work. There was
no time to discuss it, for right at that moment,
the hornbill came swooping overhead. The cars are coming, the

(09:49):
bird warned. Two cars get ready, get ready forgetting about
the dinosaur for a moment, the animals rushed to their places.
There was no time to consider if Jack's plan would work.
Just smile and be yourself, Jack said to Ellie as

(10:09):
he waded into the water, leaving her on dry land.
Remember we want to give the humans something to remember.
The t rex nodded, finding a quiet spot to lie
down amongst the bushes. The Safari cars arrived as the
various animals snatched quick looks at the visitors. Once again,

(10:32):
they were greeted by bored looking faces. Some of the
people hadn't even bothered to look up, being too distracted
by their phones. Prist Ellie hissed, Jack from the water,
show yourself and remember, give them something to remember us by.

(10:53):
The t rex lumbered to her feet, each step rattling
the ground. The animal all looked on full of hope.
This was the moment that would turn all their fortunes around.
Jack's creation was about to save them all. One by one.

(11:13):
The humans looked up into the gigantic dinosaur's face. Hello,
Elly said, she smiled, revealing rows of large, sharp teeth.
There was instant pandemonium. Adults screamed, children cried. The two

(11:34):
drivers hit the accelerators, causing the cars to screech and
engines to roar, blowing up plumes of dust into the
t rex's face. The sudden commotion had startled the zebras,
who had broken into a run, spooked the gazelles, and
frightened the buffaloes. The smaller animals attempted to flee. The

(11:57):
elephants cried out, trying not to step on anyone, while
all the birds took to the skies in a flappy
cloud of confusion. Wait don't go, called out Ellie, trying
to be helpful. Jack pulled himself out of the water
in time to see the t rex trying to chase

(12:18):
down the cars to get them to stop. While inside
the cars, everyone thought they were about to become dinner.
Oh dear Jack muttered. The dinosaur and the two cars
were swerving in figures of eight amongst the scattered animals.
He was going to have to do something. Wait, Ellie

(12:41):
was shouting at a car full of terrified faces, let's
be friends. Don't you want to take some pictures of
me with a giraffe? The humans were throwing things, now, handbags, toys, sunglasses, shoes.
Everything in the car was suddenly a missile to be

(13:02):
hurled at the pursuing dinosaur. Eventually, though, the cars broke free,
leaving the sad and confused t Rex stood watching them go.
The hippo came trotting up, feeling quite terrible. That didn't
go quite to plan, did it, said Jack with disappointment.

(13:25):
I tried to be their friend, just like you, said,
she sniffled. I guess they really don't like safaris. You
did your best, Jack said, come on, let's head back
to the watering hole. It was dark by the time
every one had been gathered from wherever they'd fled. Most

(13:47):
had had time to calm down and get cleaned up,
but a few were still shaken from the day's events.
Well that went dreadfully, said a giraffe. That's one way
to put it. A buffalo replied, we might have scared
the humans off for good. It almost worked, the rhino said,

(14:11):
trying to sound positive. I mean, at least they sat
up and took notice. Maybe we introduced the dinosaur too quickly,
mused a chimpanzee. Perhaps we should have done it more slowly, Hey,
said a vulture. Where is the tea rex? Oh? I

(14:33):
suggested she go and hang out in a quiet part
of the savannah, sighed Jack, away from any humans, cars
or safaris. I don't think the world's ready for Elly's
friendly face just yet. It's probably for the best, said
one of the elephants. Thanks for trying, Jack, I guess

(14:55):
we'll have to think of something a little different. Oh oh,
I completely agree, Jack replied, And I may just have
the answer we're looking for, really, asked the porcupine. You've
come up with a new idea already, I have, Jack replied,

(15:17):
it's obvious to me now. The t rex was too much.
I'll admit it, which is why I've been working on
something new. He gestured to the mound, where a dark
shape was lit by the silver moon. Oh no, muttered
a zebra, backing away. Behold, cried the hippo spinosaw us

(15:47):
animal fact, although they don't look like it. The closest
living relatives of hippos are whales and dolphins, although their
common ancestor lived some fifty five million years ago. It's
thought that male hippos are capable of continued growth through
their lifetimes, while females reach a maximum size by the

(16:10):
time they're twenty five. Taranosaurus rex or t Rex lived
from around seventy three million years ago right up to
the end of the dinosaurs sixty six million years ago.
There's good evidence that they all went extinct when an
asteroid collided with Earth just off the coast of Central America.

(16:32):
Thank you for your suggestions, Jack, We hope you enjoyed it,
and thank you to all of you across the world
for listening to it. There are over four hundred animal
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(16:52):
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time for another great animal tale. Goodbye,