Belly Up

In the novel’s first section, Teddy’s dull summer at FunJungle takes a shocking turn as greed is shown to be behind the conservation efforts of the zoo. Teddy Fitzroy, the 12-year-old protagonist, is also the narrator. From the story’s opening, the water balloon prank establishes his mischievous personality, disregard for authority, and deep concern for animals. Compared to freely roaming nature and interacting with wild animals in the Congo, even FunJungle, “the newest, most family-friendly theme park in the world” (2), initially seems boring to Teddy. His backstory explains how he inherited his lifelong love of animals from his parents: “Mom and Dad taught me everything they knew. I learned how to track elephants, communicate with chimps, and defend myself against a hungry leopard” (6). The Fitzroy family’s values are rooted in environmental ethics. Throughout the novel, their values will be pitted against the zoo’s operation goals, however, highlighting The Purposes of Environmental Ethics Versus Greed.

Henry’s death in Chapter 1 establishes the central mystery and sets the novel's plot into motion, as the greed behind the zoo is revealed. The title, Belly Up, describes the position in which the hippo’s body is found in the river: “Only his feet were visible, jutting above the surface” (8). Even before Teddy knows Henry has been murdered, he approaches the animal’s death like a detective. For example, he notes that Henry’s violent, repugnant habits made the animal few friends: “Hippos already have a reputation for being among the most foul-tempered members of the animal kingdom, but even keepers who had worked with hippos for years thought Henry was the nastiest one they’d ever come across” (21). As the novel continues, Teddy uncovers additional reasons why Henry was targeted, such as the corrupt financial motivations behind the zoo—Henry is firstly only used for merchandising and then is secondly used to store jewels.

The author advances the theme of wildlife conservation and environmental ethics by looking at the cynical, profit-driven motives behind the scenes of FunJungle. From the outset, Gibbs shows that love of money rather than love of animals leads J. J. McCracken to build the park: “[Z]oos and aquariums attracted more than five hundred million visitors in America each year—more than all sporting events combined” (23). He reinforces this point by showing Henry became FunJungle’s mascot because of marketing rather than biology: “[N]o animal specialists were hired at FunJungle until long after the decision to revere Henry had been made” (27). The decisions made at the top of FunJungle’s chain of command foreshadow how greed motivates three separate schemes hatched by McCracken, Martin, and Buck.

Henry’s autopsy builds suspense and develops the theme of Using Curiosity and Resourcefulness to Illuminate Social Issues as Teddy pursues the truth behind his death. Teddy uses his knowledge of the park to propose a location where Doc can operate away from the elements and the paparazzi’s prying eyes, and boredom and inquisitiveness compel him to spy on the procedure. The autopsy gives the young protagonist a crime to solve and an idea of the murder weapon, “something small with a lot of sharp points” (49). Additionally, the autopsy opens Teddy’s eyes to the ways greed overrides ethics at the park. This revelation is sparked by Martin’s decision to lie about Henry’s cause of death, both to the press and in the autopsy report: “It was the first time I’d realized that FunJungle was being run like a corporation, rather than a zoo” (51). What Teddy witnesses at the autopsy propels him to investigate Henry’s death. It is his inner reserves of curiosity and resourcefulness that help him to illuminate the social evils within the zoo.

These chapters introduce the novel’s cast of characters and explore the theme of environmental ethics, pitting ethical characters against unethical ones. Early in the novel, several characters are introduced, including a number of corrupt adults who work at the zoo. These include Marge O’ Malley, the stern but bumbling security guard, and Martin del Gato, the zoo’s director of operations, who loathes animals. FunJungle’s ill-tempered head veterinarian is also introduced; while Doc is gruff with Teddy, he differs from the aforementioned adults because he cares deeply about animals and is highly skilled at his job. The patient and caring Mrs. Fitzroy, when introduced later, clearly has her son’s admiration: “I’ll bet most other mothers would have punished me the moment they heard I’d snuck into the autopsy, but Mom was different. She was naturally curious—and she loved animals even more than I did” (62). Although she is willing to hear Teddy out, Mrs. Fitzroy doesn’t believe Henry was murdered at this point of the novel. Instead, she connects the hippo’s death to a long history of humans’ cruelty and carelessness with animals. As if to reinforce her somber observations, the police officer’s brusque indifference to Henry’s death also highlights how animals’ lives are deemed inferior to humans’. In addition, Chapter 4 uses the news broadcast to introduce Summer, J. J. McCracken’s daughter. Her sincere love of animals foreshadows that she will become an ally to Teddy and give him the connections and access he needs to find Henry’s killer. As the novel’s first section comes to a close, Teddy makes the brave and dangerous decision to become a detective because he believes he is the only person willing to investigate the hippo’s death. The novel pits the ethical characters against the unethical ones; the former will use their curiosity and resourcefulness communally to topple the unethical practices and illuminate the social issues within the zoo.