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In the distance overhead, the thu fast as it made its way across the dawn sky, interrupted the silence of the night The cougar froze, crouching low so the few bushes and blades of grass growing on the rock hid her She bared her teeth in a silent snarl as she looked upward

Tansy slowly lowered her camera and remained just as still as the cat, an inexplicable awareness of being hunted creeping down her spine Her breath caught in her lungs, and for just onewhile on a narrow ledge with a wild cougar just a few feet from her

She turned her face toward the sky as the helicopter flew directly over her Just the sight and sound of the aircraft was unsettling to her, and she bit down hard on her lower lip, peering at the craft in order to identify it, worried her parents had sent someone after her when she'd insisted she was exactly where she wanted to be She had chosen this wilderness to be completely away from all human contact, and the helicopter above her was definitelyto her father

The undercarriage of the helicopter gloith green lights as itlow over the tall trees and then just as suddenly dipping down below her line of vision, the noise fading quickly She lay very still on the narrow ledge, her heart thundering in her ears She forced air through her lungs as the lights disappeared Her i after all

Moveave one final, al and, in a single bound, leapt to the rock above her resting area Tansy knew her

den was there The cat had chosen a sive birth to her kittens

Tansy had been able to infiltrate two caves the cat had previously used as dens to set up her equipment, in the hopes she could somehow film the event To her disappointment, the cave the mountain lion had chosen was totally inaccessible, whichthe species and waiting for the next birth cycle, after these kittens were raised In the ive her the necessary money to continue her work

Tansy deserved a long soak in the natural pool and an even longer nap in the mid-afternoon sun Very carefully, she stretched her sore, tired muscles Needles and pins rushed in where before there had been only nu at her calves and thighs, a protest against the long hours of being e was so narrow She breathed through the needles, breathed through the cra with care until she was certain she was able to climb the sheer rock face as she did most days

There were tiny crevices where she could wedge her fingers and toes Long ago she had rigged a rope for safety It was often an effort to remember to use it; she was so accustorateful for its presence She was far more tired than usual The natural pool would beto prevent her well-deserved catnap

Tansy stowed her precious caside the diary she kept of the cat's est metal box at her camp She locked the latches with not one, but two heavy locks and stored it well away fro bear became curious

She was actually happy Tansy stretched again She couldn't wait to let her mother and father know They'd been so worried about her after her breakdown, and they'd been so frightened when she started disappearing for months at a time into the wildest places she could find Dropped by helicopter with her gear, she lived with just a daily radio call to assure them she was alive and well And she was h hell and coht spreading through her like a glohen she honestly couldn't re happy before