Ministry of Security
The Republic's Most Wanted
It came through the drainage channel at night. It killed Bantu, the watchman of Coop Two, who stood in the doorway until the chicks were out. There is now a bounty on it, and the Ministry of Security wants every citizen and every visitor to know its face.
Know it when you see it
Description
Long-bodied, low to the ground, and faster than it looks. Moves along the drainage line where the ground is soft and the noise is covered by running water.
Hunts at night and in the hour before dawn. Has entered the farm at least four times. On three of those occasions it was driven off. On the fourth, it was not.
It is patient. Sergeant Danladi's report notes that it waited out two full patrol passes before moving. The Ministry has stopped calling this an animal problem and started calling it what it is.
Identifying marks
- Pale forked tongue, tested constantly on the air
- Dark banding across the back, lighter yellow spotting along the flank
- Notch in the tail, roughly a third of the way down
- Leaves a dragging track between clawmarks in soft ground
The bounty
500,000 grains
Paid from the National Feed Budget by order of the Assembly, to any citizen or visitor whose information leads to its capture. The vote was unanimous. The Leader of the Opposition seconded it herself.
Issued by Ministry of Security · Office of the Minister, Pete Okpara
If you see it
DO NOT APPROACH IT. Raise the alarm call, get the chicks inside, and find a guard. No citizen is to confront it alone, this is a standing order of the Ministry and the Minister has said he will enforce it personally.
On the case
The birds hunting it
Two shifts, one fence line, and a roll call read aloud every night.
Pete Okpara
Minister of Security
The Republic's Minister of Security, appointed the week after Bantu died. He walks the fence line twice a night, counts every bird by name, and has promised the flock he will not lose another one.
Sergeant Danladi
Coop Guard, Second Shift
The guard who reached Coop Two first and has walked the same fence line every night since, including the nights the Ministry of Health formally ordered him to rest.
The reason for all of this
Bantu, Night Watchman of Coop Two
Twelve chicks went out the far side. Every one of them got out. The flock marks his rest with a whistle at dusk, and the Republic would be glad of a word from you.
Send your well-wishes to Bantu →