Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 Setting up for filming was much more work than Abbi had realized. After the tents were assembled, Amy asked Lydia to help her test all the microphones and recording equipment. Uncle Walker went with Steph to find the best trees to mount trail cameras on. With any luck, the trail cams would catch a cougar on-screen even if no one was around! Meanwhile, Abbi and Daniel helped Arthur with the command center. Every episode of Wild Whereabouts had one. This was where Arthur Fitzpatrick always told the

audience about the animal they were looking for and made his plan of attack. "I can't believe we're at the command center!" Daniel whispered to Abbi. Arthur overheard and laughed. "It looks a lot more impressive on TV, huh? Most of this is for show." He waved his arm over the many maps and other papers scattered on the large folding table. "For show?" Abbi asked. Everything looked so important! There was so much

information on cougars and Maine and even their own woods. "By the time we're ready to film an episode, I've been researching for months. I have all this memorized. But it helps if the audience has some clues, too. They might not know anything about the animal before watching the show!" Abbi nodded. That made sense. She'd seen plenty of episodes where even she didn't know much about the animal in question. "Even cougars?" Daniel said. "Most people have heard of cougars, right?" Arthur leaned over and rearranged the papers so that one of the maps of Maine was front and center. "Sure," he said. "But hearing about an animal doesn't always mean knowing about them." The map caught Abbi's eye. She pointed to a big red circle. "That's where you think the cougars are?"

"That's where they were last known to live in Maine. Over a hundred years ago." From behind her, Abbi heard Lydia approach. "That's what I don't get," Lydia said, coming to stand beside her brother. "If cougars are extinct in Maine, how could they return?" "Ah, but they aren't extinct," Arthur said. "They're extirpated." "Extirpated?" Lydia repeated the unfamiliar word slowly. "Extinct means an animal no longer lives anywhere in the world," Daniel explained to his sister. "Extirpated means an animal used to live in a certain area but doesn't anymore." "So they just moved?" Lydia asked. "Like when our neighbor got a job in Seattle?" "Not quite," Arthur said. He was speaking in his TV host voice, the one he used when explaining something on his show. He always

seemed so passionate about sharing animal facts! He continued, "Getting a new job is exciting, right? Moving for that reason would probably be an adventure! Maybe a little scary, too, but fun!" The three friends nodded along. "Animals don't usually move for fun, exciting reasons. If they leave an area, it's usually because something bad happened." Lydia's eyes widened. "Like what?" Arthur sighed. "Humans, mostly. Destroying their habitats or draining important resources from the area. Hunting them, too." Abbi knew all this from watching Wild Whereabouts, but it never got easier to hear. "That's why Arthur's show is so important!" The host of Wild Whereabouts smiled, but he almost looked sad. "Thank you for saying that. We try our best to shed some light on these issues."

Amy strolled over with a small mic to clip to Arthur's vest. From the trail, Steph and Uncle Walker made their way back to camp. By now, the sun was setting. The trees cast long shadows over the command center table. When Amy finished attaching the mic, Arthur clapped his hands once to get everyone's attention. "Enough sad talk. We're