50
“Well done for holding him.” Rico, the ranger, looked impressed as he put away the tagging stick. Tank had yowled in displeasure and disappeared under the bed immediately after his ordeal, but he was already crawling out again and didn’t seem too traumatized. “I must say, when you called me the first time, I wasn’t sure if I believed you when you said you had a wounded lynx on your land. I assumed it was just a big cat or something. It’s been decades since lynxes have been seen in this area; they mainly live in Andalucía, where the government breeding program has stimulated growth over the past five years.” He frowned. “How on earth did you get it in the house? And why is it so tame?”
“I fed him because he was malnourished after his accident,” Marcy said. “We caught him twice. Once to pull the woodchip out of his paw and once to put this herbal healing potion on. I never expected him to come back after that, but he did. I gave him raw chicken and steak and in the past couple of days, he’s been wanting to get inside. I tried to keep him out at first, but I figured it would actually be fine today since it would give you a chance to tag him.” She smiled as Tank came up to her and rolled on his back for a belly scratch. Even the ranger didn’t faze him anymore. “His paw is healed, and he’s been hunting again. He’s filled out nicely and he’s actually starting to look a bit too chubby for his own good.”
The ranger’s face pulled into a baffled expression as he slowly kneeled in front of Tank. “Tank, you said?”
Marcy chuckled. “Hey, I had to call him something and he’s a big boy, so it seemed fitting.”
“Well, I can tell you that your big boy Tank is actually female.” The ranger carefully reached out to feel Tank’s belly. “And she’s not chubby, she’s pregnant.”
Marcy wasn’t often lost for words but all she could do was stare at Tank in disbelief.
“And I think the reason she comes into the house is because she’s looking for a safe place to give birth,” he continued.
“Holy shit.” Marcy stroked Tank’s belly. “You’re having kittens.”
“As you probably know, the Iberian Lynx is an endangered species, so this is fantastic news,” Rico said, unable to hide his excitement. “They generally give birth between March and April, although when they’re unable to find a male to mate with, they can enter oestrus again and give birth at any time of year.” He paused, pondering over something. “She looks like she’s really far into her pregnancy. Do you mind if I keep her inside so I can call in a veterinarian to check on her? I don’t have any experience with situations like this and I need a medical opinion before I speak to the wildlife board to plan the next steps.”
* * *
“You were right,” Ana, the veterinarian, said to Rico. “She’s almost there. In fact, it might just be a matter of hours since she keeps pacing in and out of that cave nook and she’s not trying to escape.”
“Unbelievable.” Marcy was still trying to grasp the absurdity of the situation. They’d waited two hours for Ana to arrive. As one of the few veterinarians linked to the national breeding program, she had to drive all the way from Malaga. They’d filled her in on the happenings of the past weeks and she seemed just as baffled as Rico, as if she, too, had assumed it was simply a big cat.
“Yes, it’s a small miracle,” she agreed, studying Tank with a deep frown between her brows.
“How many kittens do they usually have?” Marcy asked, imagining Tank with a bunch of adorable kittens, climbing over each other and scrambling over her milk.
“The litter can vary from anything between one and four kittens, but from the size of her I’d say she’ll have one, possibly two.” Ana scratched her head and sighed. “I’m not sure what the best course of action would be. Tranquilizing her to move her elsewhere is not an option right now. It’s not just the anaesthetic that may harm the unborn kittens; stress may influence the birth too. We’ve found that survival rates of kittens are linked to the mother’s stress levels so, I’d rather not take her out of an environment where she feels comfortable. Even if we did, it would be close to impossible to move her without tranquilizing her.”
“Are you suggesting we let her give birth here?” Rico asked, then turned to Marcy.
“Hey, I’m fine with it,” she said without hesitation. “It would be an amazing experience, and I just want him – I mean her – to be okay.”
Ana looked surprised, as if she hadn’t anticipated such a positive response. “She clearly feels safe in your home. I know the situation is far from ideal; we’ll have to get a small team in immediately and you’ll have people here all night.”
“No problem.” Marcy glanced at Tank, who kept walking in circles in front of the weirdly shaped rough nook that she used as storage for her hoover and cleaning products. It was the only part of her house that was still in its original state as she had no idea what to do with it. The cave ceiling was too low there for a shower and it was too irregular to make a wardrobe. “Want me to empty that space?”
“If you wouldn’t mind.” Ana closed the sliding glass doors. “Let me make a couple of phone calls and we’ll help you.”
51
Marcy: ‘Call me, I have some weird and wonderful news.’Zoe re-read the message exchange as she got out of the cab and walked up to Marcy’s house. It was after midnight and although she was tired and planned to go home after a long day at work, her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Well, not just her curiosity, of course. It was the prospect of seeing Marcy too, because she’d been on her mind for the past two days while she’d catered for a big event at El Escondite.
Zoe: ‘What’s going on? It’s super busy, I can’t call right now.’
Marcy: ‘Then come over after work and I’ll show you. It’s a surprise.’
An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach when she saw four cars parked behind Marcy’s truck. One of them was a ranger car, another had the logo of a veterinarian clinic on the side, and the other two were cheap, nondescriptive ones.I hope Tank’s okay,she thought as she rushed up the hill.Marcy, a uniformed ranger and three other people were sitting around the terrace table, most of them talking on their phones in hushed voices.
Marcy waved Zoe over when she spotted her and beckoned her to be quiet. She looked beyond excited, which immediately put her at ease.God, I love that smile.
“What’s going on?” she asked in a whisper, greeting the people around the table.
“I would ask you to take a guess, but this is too crazy even for me to get my head around.” Marcy stood up and took her hand. “Can she go inside with me?” she asked the ranger.
“Go ahead. Just move slowly and be quiet.” He glanced at Zoe. “Is this your girlfriend you were telling me about?”
