Marco sprinted back through the trees toward his heavy forestry tractor, keeping low to avoid the sweep of the poachers' flashlights. He reached the heavy machine, climbed into the enclosed steel cab, and turned the key. The massive engine roared to life with a thunderous growl that shattered the silence of the valley.
Marco slammed his palm onto the emergency horn. A deafening, continuous blast echoed off the mountain walls. The effect was instantaneous. The poachers froze in terror, dropping their cages onto the gravel as they mistook the noise and flashing yellow hazard lights for an incoming police raid.
At the exact same moment, the deafening noise snapped the mother bear completely out of her sleep. Driven by sudden adrenaline and protective instinct, the massive bear burst from the bushes with a bone-chilling roar. Seeing the giant shape of an enraged mother bear charging out of the fog, the poachers panicked, scrambled back into their truck, and sped away down the mountain.