The Ocelot Secret by Eugene Hunter Pool

When three US teens from radically different backgrounds meet on a scientific expedition to the Costa Rican jungle to study the threatened ocelot, they must forge an immediate bond in order to survive in the wild and block an illegal overseas shipment of ocelots and other rare animals. The Ocelot Secret, an MG adventure novel, features Nikki Wing, Taylor Strange, and Joel Parley, zoological interns from Hawaii, Aspen, and Trinidad and Tobago. They navigate the dense rain forest; discover, and eventually outwit, a band of poachers; zipwire through the jungle treetops to escape them; and enlist the aid of local youths in a daring midnight raid to free an ocean freighter full of captured animals, putting an end to the poaching. As well as providing a fast-paced story with compelling characters, the book poses challenging questions about wildlife conservation; conveys a sense of the beauty and mystery of a variety of wild environments; and describes the individual and collective growth of two interesting girls and a boy.