Passage I

Diane Boyd, Wildlife Biologist

[1]

They call her Diane of the Wolves. Wildlife biologist Diane Boyd studies wolves in their native habitat in a remote wilderness in the Northwest. It being her base, Boyd's eighty-year-old cabin is thirty-five miles from the nearest paved road. It has little running water, electricity, or phone, and Glacier National Park is just across the river that flows past her cabin door.

[2]

Because of her isolation, Boyd has had to become self-sufficient. She heats the cabin with firewood, she chops herself, and hunts wild game for food. Much of her time is spent trapping wolves in order to radio-collar (put a tracking device on) them. Once a wolf is collared, its movements are easy to follow and record. And though she often comes across dangerous grizzlies, Boyd carries no weapon as she makes the rounds of her traps. While checking her traps, she packs supplies.

[3]

[1] The first wolf Boyd collared was Sage, a big gray wolf so strong he has crossed the Continental Divide twice in the dead of winter. [2] One winter afternoon, on a routine flight to check on her wolves, Boyd spotted Sage in a hunter's trap. [3] She knew that if the hunter didn't kill him, freezing or starvation soon would. [4] If Sage died, Boyd's research on this animal would end unhappily after only four years, it was after landing, Boyd and a fellow, biologist drove fifty miles in a four-wheel-drive pickup. [5] They then traveled through deep snow on snowmobiles in order to reach Sage. (11)

[4]

[1] They approached the half-frozen wolf, sedated him, and wrapped him in a sleeping bag. [2] The sky was dark by the time the two biologists had began working. [3] They used the warmth of their bare hands to restore circulation to Sage's frozen right foot. [4] Just before daylight, they fitted the recovered wolf with a new radio collar and set him free. (13)

[5]

A few days later, Boyd noticed Sage and five of his pup's playful wrestling on the side of a mountain.Sage‘s rescue had been a success after all!