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THE SIGHT STUNNED ROBYN. Right in front of her laid a fully grown Triceratops, groaning in pain, a trainer standing over it. The giant lying before her was one of her favourites. As much as she wanted to admire the creature, her zoologist instincts kicked in.
"Can I?" She asked the worker, gesturing for her to touch the gentle giant.
"Of course," he nodded. Robyn carefully made her way towards the triceratops and laid her palms flush against the rough, thick reddish-brown skin. "Don't be scared. It's okay. Muldoon tranquillizer her for me, she's sick," the trainer spoke to the rest of the group.
She rounded the dinosaur to kneel in front of her head, next to Ellie. Ellie gently retrieved something off of the giant's touch and examined it with Robyn. "Microvesicles. That's interesting," she spoke with a wince. "What are her symptoms?" She asked the trainer.
"Imbalance, disorientation, laboured breathing. It seems to happen every six weeks or so," he answered while handing Ellie a flashlight.
"Six weeks?" Robyn checked, whilst examining the white drool forming at the edge of the triceratops mouth. The trainer nodded with a sigh, wishing he could've helped his animal earlier on.
"They're dilated," Ellie announced, directing her flashlight into the dino's eyes. "That's pharmacological. From a local plant life," Ellie concluded whilst standing up. The other blonde scientist was a paleobotanist so she knew what sort of plants herbivores should and shouldn't eat.
Robyn retrieved a pair of plastic gloves from her satchel and slid them on to inspect the foam dribbling out of the triceratops' mouth. The Australian nodded along with Ellie's words. "I agree. You see this white drool?" She scrapped up a small sample on her covered fingertip and showed it to the trainer. "I'd say she ate something she shouldn't have. Plus with the dilated eyes, laboured breathing and orientation, she most likely ate a lot it."
Ellie knelt down by a plant. "Is this West Indian lilac?"
"Yes. We know they're toxic, but the animals don't eat them," the trainer answered.
"Are you sure?" Ellie clarified, picking at the plant tenderly.
"Pretty sure."
Ellie sighed, standing back up. "There's only one way to be positive. I have to see the dinosaur's droppings."
"Dino... droppings? Droppings?" Ian checked, startled by Ellie's statement.
Ellie nodded, turning to Robyn quickly after. "Robyn, do you have any long sleeve gloves on you?"
She nodded, searching in her satchel for a pair of long-sleeved plastic gloves and handing them to Ellie, while she remained by the dinosaur's head. Ellie thanked her and then walked off to find the dino's stool. "Why do you have, uh, long sleeve gloves just - just lying in your bag?" Ian asked.
