Peacock Feathers
is Book 1 in the JEACs series by Amelia Lionheart.
Join the JEACs
J - Junior
E - Environmentalists
A - And
C - Conservationists
in their first exhilarating adventure!
Kinnaird Wildlife Conservation Centre (KWCC), situated in the Cairngorms mountain range in Scotland, is managed by Dan MacDonald who married Jay, Umedh's youngest aunt. KWCC have their biggest success in captive breeding with the Panthera Uncia, commonly known as snow leopards, and these beautiful creatures are currently on the endangered species list. When a second litter of cubs is born, KWCC staff celebrated this success with their community in the form of a huge event, and everyone is thrilled to visit the new cubs. But, the day after the function, it is discovered that the three older cubs, and their parents, are missing, and some days later, petty crooks are discovered leaving the country with pelts of snow leopards in their suitcases. Who is the head of this horrible gang and how did they infiltrate KWCC?
The JEACs, Rohan, Umedh, Amy, Nimal, Anu, Gina, and Mich, arriving three weeks after this contemptible incident, to spend their Christmas holidays at KWCC, are appalled at the news and determined to catch the felons. They meet Brian, a Scottish lad who lives on KWCC, and he immediately joins the JEACs. Brian's father, Luag, is head of the breeding programme. Angry and upset at the loss of his beloved snow leopards, Brian updates the JEACs further on what he and his best friends, Cormag and Eadan, have discovered.
The JEACs, after listening to Brian, unanimously conclude that the snow leopards are not out of danger yet. They are worried that there may be further nasty incidents at the large winter fundraiser which is to take place in four days. Hundreds of people will be arriving via helicopter, since KWCC is only accessible by air. The JEACs, therefore, put into place a number of plans in order to keep an eye on the snow leopards, and also strive to discover the plot which they are convinced is brewing.