ers since they had come here. There
was something untameable about Khatka; the lush planet lured and yet
repelled at the same time.

"Zoboru far from here?"

The Chief Ranger pointed north in answer to the captain's question.

"About a hundred leagues. It is the first new preserve we have prepared
in ten years. And it is our desire to make it the best for tri-dee
hunters. That is why we are now operating taming teams--"

"Taming teams?" Dane had to ask.

The Chief Ranger was ready enough to discuss his project.

"Zoboru is a no-kill preserve. The animals, they come to learn that
after a while. But we cannot wait several years until they do. So we
make them gifts." He laughed, evidently recalling some incident.
"Sometimes, perhaps, we are too eager. Most of our visitors who wish to
make tri-dees want to picture big game--graz, amplet, rock apes,
lions--"

"Lions?" echoed Dane.

"Not Terran lions, no. But my people, when they landed on Khatka, found
a few animals that reminded them of those they had always known. So they
gave those the same names. A Khatkan lion is furred, it is a hunter and
a great fighter, but it is not the cat of Terra. However, it is in great
demand as a tri-dee actor. So we summon it out of lurking by providing
free meals. One shoots a poli, a water rat, or a landeer and drags the
carcass behind a low-flying flitter. The lion springs upon the moving
meat, which it can also scent, and the rope is cut, leaving a free
dinner.

"The lions are not stupid. In a very short time they connect the sound
of a flitter cutting the air with food. So they come to the banquet and
those on the flitter can take their tri-dee shots at ease. Only there
must also be care taken in such training. One forest guard on the Komog
preserve became too enterprising. He dragged his kill at first. Then, to
see if he could get the lions to forget man's presence entirely, he hung
the training carcasses on the flitter, encouraging them to jump for
their food.

"For the guard that was safe enough, but it worked too too well. A month
or so later a Hunter was escorting a client through Komog and they swung
low to get a good picture of a water rat emerging from the river.
Suddenly there was a snarl behind them and they found themselves sharing
the flitter with a lioness annoyed at finding no meat waiting on board.

"Luckily, they both wore stass belts; but they had to land the flitter
and leave until the lioness wandered off