Inuvik (Nov 01/04) - No bones about it, Lizz Gordon knows Northern wildlife inside and out.

But then, one would expect nothing less from a true outdoors person who also happens to be the regional wildlife technician for the Department of Wildlife, Resources and Economic Development (RWED).

Examining this wolf skull is one of the many ways Lizz Gordon, regional wildlife technician for RWED in Inuvik, keeps track of the overall health of Northern animals.

Gordon, who lives in Inuvik, has spent the last four years in the laboratory, ensuring the North's wild animals are healthy for those who harvest them from the land. "I really like this job. It keeps me busy and I do both lab and field work," Gordon said.

Volunteering her time while she was still a student helped Gordon get her current position, she said.

One of the first times she visited the lab, staff members were measuring a muskox fetus and Gordon's interest was piqued.

Soon after, the lab work became an extension of her interest in the diversity of area wildlife as she volunteered her time.

During her time working at Hershel Island as a park ranger and in Ivvavik National Park doing park patrols, encountering wildlife became commonplace to Gordon.

But this lab work became a way in which she could feel a sense of accomplishment and that she was keeping an eye on the overall state of the animals' health.

These days, Gordon feels right at home surrounded by wolf, polar bear and other animal skulls, along with freezers full of various animal appendages and parts.

One day she might be measuring a skull, on another she could be checking lung cysts removed from a muskox.

Gordon also checks samples from animals brought in by hunters.

"I check the kidneys, lungs, the bone marrow and for worms and parasites," she said.

Recently, students from Samuel Hearne secondary school in Inuvik have begun taking an interest in her work.

She brings the students into her lab to give them first-hand experience of what the work entails and sometimes goes to the school to give presentations on her work.

One of her responsibilities is to take referrals from the Hunters and Trappers Association to determine the health of individual animals.

Currently, wolverine carcasses are being sought for examination, she said.

"But so far, the overall health of the animals is good."