𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 ▸ Lowery Cruthers [1]

001

The Department of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkley was one of the first programmes of its type in the USA, and since its inception had continued to be at the forefront of pioneering research, producing some of the top young minds over the past twenty years. Admission to the college was competitive, and the interviewing process was rigorous, but at the end of it all it was completely worth it. The researchers at Berkley are credited with uncovering the most influential findings in the world of geo-sciences, including putting an end to the arguments over the extinction of the dinosaurs sixty five million years ago - it had been proved by those at Berkley that it was the impact of a comet and increased levels of radiation that had inevitably ended dinosaurs reign as master species on earth.

Getting into Berkley had been a dream come true for Ellis Grant, who had spent the majority of her life on paleontological dig sites with her father. As a child she had donned her timberlands and khaki shorts and strode confidently alongside her father, rock pick in one hand, toothbrush clutched firmly in the other. Before the age of five Ellis, or Ellie as her father affectionately called her, was able to correctly identify almost seventeen species of dinosaurs - eleven herbivores and six carnivores - with nothing more than a femur or metatarsal to go on. Her father, Dr Alan Grant, had almost definitely played a part in her being accepted to her chosen college, given his high profile in the world of geoscience and palaeontology it would have been foolish of her not to expect her surname to carry some sort of meaning. Berkley had hoped that with his daughter there Alan Grant would finally guest at the college, give a seminar to students and professors alike but he never did. Alan had never been one for giving lectures, believing that the important work in palaeontology was done outdoors, with your own bare hands. He had little time for the likes of academics and museum curators and instead did everything in his power to distance himself from them.

Three years on, any ill feelings over her father's refusal to attend seminars had long since disappeared. Ellis Grant had successfully made a name for herself, one which stood apart from the legacy of her father, and one which she was incredibly proud of. In between her studies Ellie was still prominent in the dig scene, spending months on end in Montana with teams of volunteers, digging in a desperate attempt to gather all the research she needed to complete her dissertation; A study into the infant rearing behaviour of dinosaurs. Over the years she had uncovered numerous nest sites of herbivorous dinosaurs, duck billed hadrosaurs and dilophosaurus to name but a few, but until recently the existence of nesting sites belonging to carnivorous dinosaurs was nothing more than a myth. After uncovering the skeleton of an infant velociraptor, Ellis had soon discovered an entire pack of juveniles, with adults not far away. It was a scientific breakthrough, she had singlehandedly proven that not only were velociraptors social creatures, rearing their young in packs, but they were also extremely nurturing, keeping their young close until they were two-three years of age. Similar to the way a mother cheetah rears and protects her cubs in the planes of Africa today, a female velociraptor would have fed and defended her young on the planes of Snakewater, Montana.