Twelve years earlier, Atlas had not been the powerful animal standing in front of them. He had been a frightened cub, badly injured after an accident at the zoo’s old service enclosure. The wound along his neck and shoulder was deep enough that the first veterinary team was unsure whether he would survive.
Margaret had been called in because the damage was more complicated than it first appeared.
She had spent hours repairing torn tissue and controlling the bleeding. The jagged scar that now disappeared beneath Atlas’s mane was the result of that surgery.
But the operation was only the beginning.
Atlas was weak afterward. He refused food. He flinched whenever anyone approached his enclosure. Margaret discovered that he would calm when he heard her voice, so she stayed beside him during feedings and recovery checks.
