As they dug deeper into the frozen ice they came across a discovery that shocked everyone present. There, preserved in the ice, were two wolves. The larger one was wrapped around the smaller one who had the most fascinating fur. It appeared to shine both blue and grey fur through the clear ice and it was unlike anything they had ever seen before. The team left everything untouched and made their way back to their camp close by. There they radioed in that they needed a team of scientists and maybe a veterinarian to come examine what they had found before they tried to get it out and move it. They were told they would send whoever they could to come examine the find, but they were in no way to try to remove it until they had received some professional guidance.
The next day a few scientists had arrived on the dig site, they had been flown in from their research center and were still very tired from the long flight. The head veterinarian, Weronika Mlyninar, had not slept much at all. She was fascinated by the photos from the find yesterday and could not wait to see it in person and take some samples of the animals. The coat on the smaller animal was unlike anything she had ever seen and she hoped that some DNA testing might provide some answers to that riddle.
Canidae was her field of study and she loved wolves particularly. In University she excelled at her studies and the Institute took notice of her immediately offering her a position in the last year of her studies. They found her lecture on wolves and marijuanna amusing, as she had found a case where some hikers had left their supplies out in the open and a local wolf dug into their backpack. Inside it had found some marijuanna brownies and consumed all of them. There was not enough chocolate present to harm the animal, but rangers had to capture it and hold it in captivity until it had recovered as it had become dangerous to itself and others. While amusing, the lecture was fascinating as Weronika had been able to acquire the data samples as they were testing the animal to see what was wrong with it. Combined with her extensive wolf knowledge, along with the data, she impressed them and gave valuable insight into the effects of the drug that some research restrictions would not allow. She was able to bring her research into the field of human study as well, proving herself as a valuable asset to her trade.
After their arrival and a few updates they were taken to the site of the dig and once suited up for the environment they were lowered into the pit. Slowly they descended with their equipment and from the lights she could tell that they would not have to go that far down. Once at the bottom the gate lifted and they followed the team leader down a small corridor that had been dug that opened into a large cavern.
"This was once a cliff side with a large waterfall pouring down it" he informed them. "We are still trying to figure out how it all became buried and frozen like this. It looks like the climate changed rapidly and there was a landslide. We should have more answers soon.."
"Where are the wolves?" Weronika asked. The climate information was interesting and she would consult their data later. She was not interested in opinions, but facts and right now she really wanted to see the wolves.
"Ah, yes. Right over here in what use to be a cliff face, very close to where the waterfall had flowed.....you can see its erosion." He said pointing to the far left wall. He walked over and turned on the lights for that area.
There they were captured in ice and perfectly preserved just like in the photos. A large wolf who was wrapped around a smaller wolf. Male and female? It looked that way. Weronika paused and found herself daydreaming a little. While it was cold, they looked beautiful together, almost romantic. She began to think of their life together, what adventures did they go on and how did they end up in this final state together. She stopped her dreaming and returned to her scientific mind. She knew that the numbers do not lie, so she would get to work trying to find the answers. She walked up the wolves and touched the ice that they were trapped in. They looked amazing and perfectly preserved. She looked around at the ice encasing them and called the team leader over. "I would like to use my micro ice borer to get a sample today before we try to extract them. This one specifically interests me" she said, pointing to the wolf of blue and grey color.
The samples were taken as were a few more photos of the wolves. They spent the day planning how to safely extract them in their ice sample and how to transport the entire find while keeping it frozen. She wanted to get it back to the lab in a proper containment area to study them further. Through all her studies she had not seen a wolf such as this one. It was an important find both for the institute and for her.
She spent the evening taking notes and preparing to head back to the lab with the new find. She would run DNA samples, age testing, disease screening...there was a lot of work ahead of her but she loved the challenge and the world of discovery that lay before her. She researched further, took notes and worked herself into a state of exhaustion. She tended to get so focused on projects that she would forget about herself. She stopped to think if she had even eaten, then realized she had not. She took out one of her nut protein bars and washed it down with a sealed container of tea she had made earlier. It was still warm and it tasted really good. She loved warm green tea. Now her body reminded her how late it was now so she slipped into her tent to retire for the evening. Sleep came faster than she was expecting as she drifted off into the wild to play with the wolves.
The morning came quickly and plans were set in motion to extract and transport the find back to the lab safely. Weronika would go on ahead and start with the samples that she had taken the day before. She knew another long flight awaited her, but she did not care at this moment. She wanted to get on with her work. She had things that must be done and curiosity that must be satisfied. The rest of the team would stay behind to help with the extraction and transportation of the wolves.She wondered what mysteries awaited her to solve this time as she packed up and prepared to leave for the airport as her ride back was already waiting for her.
Before long she was back home, tired, but back home. Sleep could wait as she wanted answers as these wolves intrigued her and maybe there was a new discovery on the horizon. First she prepared herself some tea before getting down to work. She had various flasks and beakers setup for her tea preparation and people around the lab referred to her as some kind of "mad tea scientist". It made her smile, but she did not let them know how it humored her. She would just give them a glare and they would leave her alone. She liked that since it gave her more time to study and get her research done. Earl Grey today as she needed the boost, at least one liter....to start.
The tests took days and finally when she had her results she did not believe it. She confirmed the samples were correct and there was no contamination of them. Then she ran to the cold storage facility that held the wolves. There she reached out and touched the glass window separating the wolves from her, moving her hand back and forth like she was petting her.
"Who are you? What are you?"
An assistant was close by and overheard her talking so they asked, "what do you mean? The wolves?"
"Yes," she said. "The wolves. You see that one with the bluish grey fur? She should not be here. Her species died out over 40 million years ago. She is probably a Hesperocyon, the early ancestor of wolves and foxes." She paused looking at them wrapped around each other. "The male is a regular wolf, but not too regular as I am sure they were mates."
"Really?!" the assistant said. "Do you think they had pups....could they have pups?"
"They could, we will do more tests, but I am sure they did. We had found wolves that had a very strong genetic code markers, almost like a master wolf that had saved the wolf population that was dying out. Very strong indeed." She tapped on the glass pointing "I think she was their mother....what lovely colors. I will name her Niebieski"
"Niebieski? What does that mean? Is it Latin?"
Weronika laughed, "No, it is Polish. It means blue. She is a blue and grey wolf and she was a living miracle"